


Don't Try it, Pumpkin

by AssassinPyro13



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Alpha Rhys, Alpha Vaughn, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Attempt at a slow build, Bad puns eventually, Characters may be a little OOC, Enemies to Lovers, I ship Fiona and scooter so bad, Jack has PTSD, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Not as bad as Rack, Omega Jack, Omegas are lower class, Omegas don't have dicks. You were warned, People are going to hate me for this fanfic, Pregnant Jack, Sexual Content, Sort of vaginal sex, Stubborn Rhys, Vaginal Sex, You were very much warned, but I don't care. XD, but it's not shown, did not mean for this amount of angst!, kinda angsty. I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-12 18:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 63,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7943986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssassinPyro13/pseuds/AssassinPyro13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The smell hit him head on when he walked into the store with Vaughn. He wasn't expecting any scent this powerful to hit him head on like a train full of cinnamon and apple wood. What made it worse was that it was easy to spot the source of it. The smell came from the greeter of the small store. An omega who stood tall and proud in his uniform despite his lower class. He hadn't looked like any omega Rhys had seen before. He was tall, strong-</p><p>"Are you gonna keep staring at me all day princess? If so, fuck off!"</p><p>-And incredibly pissed.</p><p>"Bro! Do you know who that is?!" Vaughn hissed from behind him, feebly trying to keep out of the view of the omega. "That's Jack! He's extremely violent, especially to Alphas. Stay away from him, he's dangerous."</p><p>But how could Rhys? Jack had the most amazing smell in the world, and he wanted him badly.</p><p>(Multi-chapter fic. Don't be fooled. There will be more chapters.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Breakup (edited)

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my very first Borderlands fic so go easy on me. The characters may be a bit OOC but I will try my best.
> 
> Just so you know, this story will probably have a lot of skipping but I will try not to do skipping that much.

Finishing up his wardrobe of choice, he secured his tie around his neck. He had to admit that it may be a bit narcissistic of him to dress up a little bit fancy each time he went out. But part of Rhys felt like he had to. Dressing to impress was something he had been so used to doing in his every day work that it often blends in with his days off. Although the lanky alpha couldn't deny it was a bad thing. If he just so happened to find the right omega then he wouldn't complain. And lucky for him, that just so happened, well, sort of. She wasn't exactly an omega. Three years, He had been in a relationship for three years with the woman of his dreams; Sasha. Rhys could honestly say that he was the happiest man in the world, skipping with each step. Even though it was just a tad bit strange for two alphas to date, it did happen every so often, being that alphas normally dated betas or omegas due to instincts and attraction.

They had met four years ago to be exact. She had been serving drinks to people in a diner when he had accidentally bumped into her, making her spill all the drinks on herself and the floor; That had not been the best impression he had wanted to make. The fact that she had figured out he worked for the Helios corporation by the suit and company logo "Hyperion" on his vest had made the whole situation worse for him. Turns out she had hated the company with a passion and didn't hesitate to make her point clear, even when he had given her his number AND offered to pay for the cleaning of her clothes. He made it a point to bump into her every so often the days that followed JUST so he could talk to her. In the end, she reluctantly found it in her heart to accept his friendship. Not long after that, they ended up dating.

Inhaling deeply at the sight of his reflection as he smiled smugly, he could practically hear his roommate and his best friend, Vaughn, roll his eyes from the other side of the door as he knocked. "Come on, Bro. You're going to be late if you don't hurry it up. Stop classing it up and get out there before she eats without you again." Rolled his eyes at Vaughn's comment, Rhys walked over to his closed bedroom door and opened it, seeing the amused yet annoyed look his buddy had on his face. 

"Come on, bro, that was one time." Rhys argued, putting a hand to his chest with a face of mock hurt as if he had been shot. Although he had to admit that was a horrible day. He was only late by fifteen minutes but Sasha had gone and eaten before him and left. By the time he got there, he was greeted with a bill and a silent treatment by the other alpha for a week. "Besides, it's not that far away. Just down the block." he chimed, passing Vaughn with a grin, grabbing his coat and keys from the table beside the door. Vaughn followed him to the door, crossing his arms and giving a weak nervous chuckle.

"If you say so, bro. Just make sure you don't lock yourself out. I have to work late again today." The smaller alpha stated, finishing his sentence while fixing his glasses midway. "I can't come back to let you in if you do."

"I know, I know." Rhys waved a nonchalant hand with a smile. "Your work is an hour drive away, I get it. Seriously-" Casually placing his hands on his friend's shoulder, he gives the most coy wink he could. "-You need to relax. Everything will be fine."

\---

"What?" Staring wide-eyed at Sasha, Rhys couldn't help but drop his jaw in shock. Said woman, on the other hand, sat in the seat across from him, looking a little upset, however, not as much as Rhys obviously did at the moment.

"I'm breaking up with you Rhys. I can't do this anymore." She exclaims, looking away, her expression mixed between upset and sad. Honestly, Rhys wasn't expecting this when he had come to the restaurant for his and Sasha's date. But it looks like she did. How long she had been planning this, he hadn't a clue. There must have been signs, right? How could he miss them? Shaking his head to remove his stupor, his brows furrow as he leans on the table for support.

"W-what... Why?" Asking, his mouth fumbled for the words as his hands held tight to the table in an effort to figure out what he had done to make her upset. His eyes looked all over her face quickly, his echo being just a tad bit faster with it's movements than the other one. Sasha had shrugged, arms still crossed as she found the legs of a nearby table more interesting.

"It's not you Rhys. Not completely..." When she got no response from that, she glanced over at him and grunts. "Your scent Rhys. I can't take it anymore. For the past year it has done nothing but give me a headache and...."

Frowning, she stops there, looking at the floor as if full of guilt. "And I found someone else... A beta."

Still in shock, Rhys could only clench his jaw tightly and keep the tight leash on the primal growl he had in his throat. The longer this went on, the stronger his instincts got and the harder it was for him to keep them in check. It was bad enough that he had monsterous strength with his metal arm without keeping himself from harming someone with it during times like these. "So you're leaving me because of something I can't control." He spits our venomously. "And a beta at that. What's his name?" 

Clutching the table cloth, he could almost hear the fabric tearing between his metal fingers. He wished they had ripped the cloth; At least then it would give him something to focus his aggression on. But these were built for when alphas got angry. Harder to tear.

Sasha only looked at his face, sighing in defeat as she held the most bland expression on her face. "August."

"August!?" Jumping to his feet, Rhys' eyes grew as he stared down at the woman in front of him with shock and horror. "GANG August?! Drug lord August?! The guy who you said you would never date in a million years August?!" This time he couldn't hide his hurt from his face and voice. It only took a moment for her to nod.

"Why him?" Rhys hated how defeated he sounded at that moment, staring down at the other alpha from the opposite side of the table in distress. "Did I do something?"

Never had he seen her lips tighten like they had just then.

"Look Rhys. I'm not going to sugar coat it. You knew this wouldn't work between us. Alphas can't be a thing. It's like two Badass Skags. Our scent isn't compatible and neither are we. You're always late and always forget the dates we make; Half the time, you're lost in your own little world..... I can't do it with you any more." She sighs before rubbing her head and stands. "I love you Rhys. But I can't stay with you... You'll find someone better..."

As she steps up to him, Rhys slumps in his seat, looking forward with the most beaten expression. It was true that even to him their scents weren't mixing well but he figured they could deal with it. Apparently Sasha thought differently.

"And he's not in a gang or a drug lord." She sniffed irritably. "He's.......a biker." The short pause in the middle of the sentence told him that she wasn't being completely truthful; that she was hiding something,

"Anyway, I have to go. He's waiting for me....." Turning away from him, she left quietly, leaving the other alpha there to himself. Putting his head in his hands, Rhys was quick to order a drink from a nearby waitress, Not able to stop the buzzing thoughts in his head. He was still wrapping his head around what just happened when the alcohol came.

\---

"She what? Rhys, are you sure?" Vaughn questioned, listening to his echo com he got from Rhys. "I-I mean, of course you're sure but...."

He sighs with a frown, looking at the ceiling from his cubical. "It doesn't sound like her... and are you drunk?" During his lunch, Vaughn had noticed he had gotten a call during his work and called his bro back when he got on his hour lunch.

"Yes...." Rhys exclaimed from the other end of the echo, scrambling through the cabinets after finishing his bottle of White Russian. The drink at the restaurant was weak and quick to finish, not even leaving him with a small buzz. After he had paid for it, Rhys had ran all the way home when it had started to rain halfway there. Sure he had thought about going to a bar but this felt to personal for a bar but with his goal in mind, it wouldn't have been an option that he was comfortable with. He wanted to get drunk and he wanted to drink at home without anyone watching him, or trying to take him home with them. Now after three bottles of scotch, he had searched through the alcohol cabinet with determination, sniffing as he babbled what happened to Vaughn in his drunken state. Not finding anymore alcohol, he stood out from the lower shelving and rubbed his tears away with his real arm a he chokes out a sob, slurring. 

"I-I don't know what to do bro. I mean-" He wobbles for a bit and uses the island counter to keep himself upright. "I-I-I was g-gonna propose to her today, man. And just.. Now I'm home and single."

Rhys waves his arm as he speaks, looking around the apartment as he wobbles. "Now I'm wet because I might have pissed myself and.. and... rain.. and.... Oh god, Bro" Then he breaks down crying, using his robotic hand to wipe his tears away this time. "I don't know what to do."

There was silence from Vaughn's ends, almost as if he was thinking before he exhaled softly. "Okay bro. I can tell you what to do. Are you standing?" Rhy's lets a soft "Mmm-hmm." With a soft noise in his upset state mixed in, wiping his face again. "Alright bro. You have to walk in your room for me." Vaughn hears shuffling and a door opening.

"You there, bro?" There was another "Mmm-hmmm..." and the small alpha couldn't help but smile sadly. "Alright. Now go to your bed and lay down." More shuffling from Rhys' side. "And cover yourself with the blankets. Try to sleep, bro. I will be home in a couple hours." 

the third "Mmm-hmm." Was enough to convince Vaughn that Rhys had started falling asleep.


	2. Jack, your new best Frenemy! (edited)

The hangover Rhys had experienced was worse than anything he could have ever imagined possible. Waking up with a head that won't stop pounding was hardly his ideal way to wake up that morning after everything that had just happened. The alpha immediately regretting all that he drank the other day. If it hadn't been for the glass of water and pain killers that sat on his night stand, an obvious sign that Vaughn was home, he would have probably spent the entire day in bed; he very much wanted to. After the sudden break up with Sasha last night certainly made him want to curl up and die under the silk sheets on his twin bed. 

He'd spent all his tears last night while he was drinking, having been sobbing and blubbering like a baby long before he called Vaughn. Pressing his head to the bed, he managed to sit up with a loud groan before placing his hand to his head as his back popped with the movement. Letting out a pained grunt at the sound his bones were making, Rhys threw his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his shoulder where his metal arm was still attached. He must have forgotten to remove it in his drunken state and there was no way Vaughn knew how to do it.

Raising his hand, he squinted as the holo-projection appeared with a list of settings for his arm; making him squint at the brightness of it. He was quick to get into the battery level settings to check on how much power his arm had. Unfortunately, just as he saw the power meter, the holograph died and his arm fell to his side the side like a limp noodle; power completely gone. Growling in irritation, Rhys quickly reaches over his shoulder where the arm connected and and removes the metal contraption by pushing the release button on his arm. Sighing at the sudden hiss of air and the loss of the heavy weight as his arm detaches from the nerves in his shoulder, He had wasted no time to grab it with his remaining arm, pushing the plug that was attached to the wall in it; hearing the satisfied beep of it charging.

"There we go." Rhys quietly muses with a smile to himself, lightly rubbing the arm before setting it to the side on his bed and standing up, wobbling as his head spins before flopping back down onto the bed, holding his face in his hands. The nausea rushed over him like a wave, making him gag before letting out a soft belch. Running his fingers through his hair, he groans as he waits for the nausea to pass. It took a while but he was able to get back on his face when it got to a bearable level.

"Time to get out of these clothes.... they reek..." He comments to himself, shredding his clothes and dropping them to the floor before stepping to his clothes drawer to pull out a clean outfit.

The water was cold when Rhys stepped in the shower and he couldn't help but yelp the second the ice cold water touched his skin. He did the best he could to hurry and get out of the shower, dressing and sighing. Compared to the water, his clothes were warm. The smell of pancakes and bacon flooded his nose the second he stepped into the kitchen, making him lick his lips and a large smile plastered on his face.

He was so absorbed in the smell, that he almost didn't notice Vaughn sitting at the table, eating as well as working on some papers. Going straight for the food that was still hot and steaming from being cooked and well seasoned, his mouth drooled as he grabbed a plate of the food.

"You know, we should go about getting some groceries." Vaughn stated when Rhys sat at the table, the tall Alpha jumped when his smaller friend spoke. Without missing a beat, Vaughn looked up with a smile. "Like a new alarm clock. You seemed to have trashed that along with half the apartment when you went and got yourself wasted last night."

Choking on some eggs he was halfway chewing, he clears his throat in an attempt to remove the egg from his lungs while his face goes pink. "W-wait.. what?" He asked, staring at his friend like he grew an extra head. "I did?"

Not noticing Rhy's expression, Vaughn laughed, nodding, pushing his glasses back up his face as he pushed some papers away to eat his own food. "Yeah, bro. You totally ruined the place. I had to throw out half our furniture and a couple plates." He shrugs. 

"A glass here and there." Seeing Rhys frowns, he gives a laugh. "It's no big deal bro. Those are easy to replace." Vaughn tries to reassure but the frown on his best friends face troubled him. "Or.... is this about.... you know..."

Rhys stuffs some bacon in his mouth, making the greasy treat taste like ash in his mouth. "I don't know..." He replies. And honestly he didn't. If he was to be blunt about it, he had no idea what he felt about the ordeal. Right now he just felt..... numb. When it happened, he expected himself to be completely heartbroken but he didn't really feel anything. Sipping on his drink, he paused his thoughts. He really didn't want to be thinking of last night right now. Bitterly chewing his meal, he dropped the fork down on his napkin.

"Vaughn, I really don't want to talk about Sasha." He grumbled, standing with his plate before taking it to the sink to wash it. "I'd rather go to the store and pick up the things to replace what I broke." His comment made Vaughn's eyebrows raise, looking over at the taller alpha.

"Really? Bro you hate shopping." The smaller alpha exclaimed softly, fixing his glasses on his face. "I mean, I practically have to drag you to the store when we need anything."

"Yeah, well that's because everyone there are assholes." Rhys growled, turning to look at his roommate. Pacing around the kitchen, he rubs his fingers through his uncombed hair. "They're... They're assholes to everyone. Especially to omegas, bro."

Vaughn hummed before nodding. "I know man. But that's everywhere, not just the store. The best we can do is be kind to the omegas there." Placing the papers he was working on into a neat stack, the small alpha stood, stretching his back, hearing a pop. "Come on. I'll drive."

\---

"Vaughn.. I really don't want to go in there." Rhys whined once Vaughn had parked his car. Looking at the old, tacky looking store, he winced at the sight. "Maybe I should stay in the car. You know, just in case." The store was small compared to most of the other buildings around and pretty much sold the cheapest things money could offer but it was just right for a couple of cheapskates. Vaughn groaned as he climbed out of the car.

"Come on bro. We've been here like, a million times. You know this place. So don't blame your "new place" anxiety." The small alpha huffed when Rhys hesitantly climbed out of the car. Vaughn quickly locked it before Rhys could climb back in. 

"Besides, you're the one who wanted to get this done and we'll only be in there for a moment. I made a list." Vaughn stated, waving the list in his hand of all the things that they had to get. It was lucky the car was big enough to stuff the things that they needed to replace along with things they needed, aside from furniture that was.... it looked like a pretty long list. Mentally whining, Rhys ended up following Vaughn through the parking lot.

Although the distance between them and the building was merely just a few steps away, it felt like and eternity. Already he could feel his skin crawling the closer he got. Clenching his fingers, they pushed through the door, brushing past the people people going in and out of the building.

He should have been prepared. He should have known this would happen to him eventually. The second he stepped in the door, the smell hit him head on when he walked into the store with Vaughn. He wasn't expecting any scent this powerful to hit him head on like a train full of cinnamon and apple wood. What made it worse was that it was easy to spot the source of it. The smell came from the greeter of the small store. An omega who stood tall and proud in his uniform despite his lower class. He hadn't looked like any omega Rhys had seen before. He was tall, strong-

"Are you gonna keep staring at me all day princess? If so you can fuck off!"

-And incredibly pissed.

"Bro! Do you know who that is?!" Vaughn hissed from behind him, feebly trying to keep out of the view of the omega. "That's Jack! He's extremely violent, especially to Alphas."

"I-what?" His brain had practically fried the second the smell smacked him in the face. The glare from the omega releasing the sweet pheromones sailed over his head as he could instantly feel his groin stirring. Never had he smelled an omega as strong as this; nor had said smell effected him so much. He could only imagine how red his face must have gotten from it alone. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he looked over at his bro for a moment and saw the small alpha's alarm. 

Had Vaughn said something? turning back, he let out a terrified squeak. Oh god, the omega was getting closer. Blinking, he snapped out of it just in time to see the disgusted sneer on the omega's face. To see how the older man's fists were clenched and see his shoulder square up. The omega was ready for a fight. But Rhys was too shocked to care. Standing stiffly, he paled, fear outweighing his need to mate; Outweighing his need to breed the omega.

"Did I stutter, princess?! I said to beat it!" Rhys yelped at the omega's shout and backed up against Vaughn, seeing a flash of sick amusement in the omega's eyes for only a moment.

"I-uh.. I..." Oh god, he really ought to learn how to speak while under stress, this stuttering HAD to stop. This response seemed to displease the older man, seeing as the omega sniffed in annoyance, he assumed it wasn't the reaction he had wanted from the lanky alpha. However, what saved him was the fact that apparently, the omega worked at the store. The man wouldn't outright attack him without risk of losing his job (which was one of the few that hired omegas.) But oh god, the smell was driving Rhys crazy. An unclaimed and unmated omega was rare and very, very valuable to many alphas.

"I-uh-I-I." The omega mimicked in a hateful mocking tone as he towered over Rhys the best he could, despite being a few inches shorter than Rhys. He didn't exactly have to try hard. While the omega lacked the height compared to Rhys, he sure had more than enough muscle and bulk to deal with him. "If you're not going to buy something then get out of here, kiddo. Go!" 

That prompted Rhys to bolt past the omega and into the store, practically dragging Vaughn as they ran to the center of the building before they finally paused long enough to catch their breaths from fleeing.

Kneeling over to rest his hands on his knees, Rhys let a loud gasp before looking at Vaughn. "Who did you say that was?" He asked in between pants, his legs shaking as color came back to their faces.

The smaller alpha was leaning against a nearby column as he catches his own breath, staring at Rhys, horrified. "That was Jack, the alpha killer. Do you not see how lucky we were to get away?!" Vaughn's hands go to his hair and grabbed his own brown locks as he paced. "Oh man, oh man. Bro. He kills alphas for just LOOKING at him and here you were, ogling him like your next meal!" He paused in front of Rhys, looking over his tall friend's face in hopes of enlightenment. 

"What were you thinking?! We could have been killed."

Without answering, he had simply too his chance to glance back where they had just come from; Rhys allowed himself to smile dozily at the memory of the omega, despite the aggression the man showed. 'Jack is a nice name.' Had been the only words that popped in his head. Despite what Vaughn had just told him, he never had that happen to him; and he smelled omegas every day of his life. 

"He smells nice...." He hummed. If he sounded like a drunkard, he had no idea.

"Of course he does! He smells that way to everyone! Jack's one of the most fertile omegas in town!" Vaughn stomped up to Rhys and took his arms in his hands. "Look. Whatever you do, stay away from him. I know he smells wonderful and all but he's not worth losing your live for! Find another omega to settle with but keep away from him. He'd kill you! Not even joking, bro"

\---

Needless to say that Rhys was too distracted during the entire shopping experience. The omega's scent was practically all over his clothes and he couldn't help but to lift up his collar to sniff at the smell that clung to him, despite the looks he got from other shoppers of the store. He was too scent drunk to care, which was an actual thing with alphas when an omega was involved. Oh god, if the new omega smelled this good every day, Rhys wondered what it would be like to smell him in heat. The thought was enough to shake him out of his thoughts just in time to hear Vaughn talking about a new lamp as they neared that department.

How long had his mind been clouded? Ugh, he didn't even want to think about it. Having just met the man and already he was thinking of him in heat. Rhys must have had issues. The only thought that seemed to reassure Rhys that he would never get the chance to see it happening was the fact that the omega would kill him and that there was a little thing in the world called "Heat leave." in which Omegas stayed home for a week while they went through their heat with their mate or alone. As sad as it sounded for omegas to go through their heats without aid, it rarely happened with how quick Alphas were to claim them. It was amazing that there was one who wasn't bonded yet.

That knowledge excited Rhys to no end. The urges his instincts gave him, painted a pretty picture of him conquering the omega. However, Rhys wasn't like that. He didn't want to force any omega to be with him just as much as he didn't want to be forced with an omega. If he was going to get together with one, he was going to do it the right way. By being respectful and trying to get to know them.

Plucking a fresh cut flower from the box it sat with many others, he and Vaughn quickly got in line to pay for their purchases. The items in their cart was a lot more than he had thought they were going to get. Rhys added to it by throwing in Mini M&M's. He freaking loved mini M&M's.

Unlike the rest of the items, Rhys paid for the flower himself. He didn't know why he got it but it had caught his eye. It was a blooming flower found on Pandora which was actually harmless and pretty. One of the few pretty things on the planet that had everything in the world try to kill people. Rhys was just glad they were off that planet and on a nicer one. Holding his breath as they got closer to the door to avoid smelling the omega's scent again, he was relieved to see the Omega busy with yelling at another costumer, a beta this time, over a return. Quickly placing the flower on the omega's table while his back was turn, he bolted out the door after Vaughn.


	3. (Edited)

To say that he couldn't will himself to stay away would be an understatement. Rhys had felt an enormous need to go back to the store multiple times over the past week, but each time he would stop himself. Even Vaughn would catch him every so often when he would attempt to sneak out and would question Rhys on where he was going and if he could tag along. 

Much as he hated to admit it, the fact alone that, Vaughn had wanted to come along had turned him off on the idea of going to the store all together along with the courage the lanky alpha had built up. Not that he hated his bro; oh no. He loved Vaughn like any good best friend would. But with the thought of actually pulling off a chance to be with the omega, who had captured his attention, put some major strain on his alpha instincts that told him to claim the unmated omega that he just met before another got him. 

Needless to say that his instincts didn't entertain the thought of having another tag along. They did not recognize pack members that way and all alphas felt like a threat; wanting to take his intended away.

However, He ended up going back to the store the next week, looking very uneasy while thinking about his last encounter with Jack. Shaking the memory away and forcing a smile on his face, Rhys stood tall and stepped back inside the building to see the omega that had caught his eye, being screamed at by another alpha who was, no doubt, his boss by the way he was dressed. 

Jack looked absolutely pissed at that moment; hands clenched to the side, shoulders squared and teeth bared; but had remained silent through the entire lecture by his superior, taking whatever was being said, in stride. By the time Rhys had gotten even remotely close, Jack's boss had walked off, faced red and puffy but satisfied that his employee had, had a thorough talking to about.... whatever; leaving Jack to growl and lean against the wall with his arms crossed, unable to relieve his anger without risk of losing his job.

It seemed to be a bad time to want to visit. maybe Rhys should come back another day when the dangerous omega was in a better mood than he was currently.

Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to even turn. Apparently, Jack had smelled Rhys nearby because he snapped his head over in Rhys' direction with the most pissed off sneer on his face that the lanky alpha had ever seen. 

"The fuck you want, cupcake? I'm not in the mood for you, alpha." The comment caused Rhys to jerk in his startled and tense state; reaching behind his head to scratch an itch out of nervousness, he gave a weak and hesitant chuckle, avoiding eye contact. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

"I....Uh... What was that about?" He couldn't help but ask, avoiding eye contact from the older man once more, looking to the side and past the omega's head. From where he stood, Rhys could make out snort from Jack as a response. Looking back at Jack, Rhys had gained enough courage to look him in the eye, finally.

"Some asshole got mad because I yelled at him..." The grin on Jack's face was absolutely murderous, staring ahead with dead and tired eyes that held a strange glee in them, as he spoke. "Maybe took a snap at his hand when it got too close." Then he gave an eye roll before he continued. "Should teach the man from getting handsy."

Rhys had to give a nercous gulp, rubbing his arm with his robotic one, feeling a bit out of place and unsure what else to do or say at that moment.

"O-oh..." Looking down for a moment, Rhy glanced at the floor near his feet for a moment, halting his movements in favor of gripping his arm instead of rubbing it.

"And don't think I didn't see your 'gift'."

"G-Gift?! I-I-er....How did you.....?" Clearing his throat, Rhys glanced back up at the omega in his alarm at the knowing statement that was sent his way. His nerves grew worse the longer he was with the man. "You like it?" Looking back at the omega, he watched the scowl form on his lips.

"I fucking hated it. And your smell was all over the damned thing. Don't leave me flowers."

Rhys blushed in shame, having his gift rejected. Of course the man would hate it. What was he thinking? Obviously he wasn't expecting an outright love confession but he didn't expect the omega to flat out yell at him in outrage. His gift hadn't been that bad, had it?

"I... I had hoped it would... be a good apology... for earlier." His face was still red from his shame, shoulders raised to hide his neck in the collar of his shirt. He heard a snort that was soon followed by the sound of the omegas strained and bitter laughter from the man in front of him.

"An 'Apology'?" Jack snorted again, still giving off that bitter, hollow laugh that made chills go down Rhy's spine. "An 'apology'?!" Pushing off the wall, Jack stomped up to Rhys and shoved him against the wall with his hand around the omega's neck. "You'd have to try a lot better than that to get my forgiveness you little shit!" Jack hissed in a low, dark tone. His eyes gleamed with a hidden fire as he held the terrified alpha against the wall, squeezing his neck hard enough to leave bruises and cut his air off to the point it was hard for him to breathe.

Clawing at the Omega's hand, Rhys gasped and panted. He could easily break away from the grip. But he hadn't wanted the omega more pissed off and make a scene to get the older man fired. So instead, he asked with what little air he had in a gasp. "I-I take it-" He took in a deep strangled breath of air. "That you don't get a lot of-" Another gasp. "Apologies?"

There was a flicker in Jack's eyes and he gave a spiteful chuckle. "Oh those I get plenty." Letting go of the alpha, Jack stepped back a bit, watching Rhys fall to the floor with a deep gasp, breathing in as much air as he could. "I get plenty of 'apologies' from people like you.... alphas." The way Jack said 'alpha' sounded more like he was spitting acid.

Pacing a little, Jack continued as he got no response from the alpha.

"Every day with you alphas. You see a little omega who you see is defenseless and fragile. You do something to piss him off, you try to make it up to him and when his back is turned, try to take advantage of him." Jack faced the gobsmacked alpha with a hateful scowl. "That's how it works. It's how it always is. But I won't go for it, kiddo. So take your apology and shove it up your ass!"

"But I'm not like that!" Rhys exclaimed, surprising himself with his sudden outburst. Blinking, he frowned. In a way, he felt offended at the accusation that was being thrown his way. But deep down, he knew he shouldn't. Most alphas did that to omegas in order to force a bond on them just so they could have a warm bed to come home to, despite the omega's wishes. It was sick and twisted and Rhys was one of few who hated that. But it was legal and those alphas get away with it all the time.

Jack on the other hand, hadn't looked phased at his outcry. Instead the omega just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night pumpkin. Be lucky I won't kill you.... yet." With that, he turned and went back to where he stood before Rhys had arrived. Standing from where he had collapsed, Rhys stood and once more walked in front of Jack, making the omega blink with irritation.

"Look," Rhys began, swallowing nervously, doing his best to keep his composure and not run off with his proverbial tail between his legs. "I... I genuinely mean it. I am sorry about looking at you like that. You just took me by surprise." He heard Jack snort. But at least he had the man's attention. "I'm not trying to get in your pants or anything. I just want to talk."

Jack raised a brow. That was the only thing that changed on his expression as he shifted to lean heavily against the wall. "Oh really?" The older man growled. "You just wanted to talk. And just tell me what it is you wanted to 'talk' about?"

"Um, well..." Rhys stammered in surprise. He had expected a growl, some yelling, even some more strangling. In his mind, he had thought that Jack would either try and kill him or force him away and out of the store while calling it harassment. But he wasn't complaining. 

"Just.....Things?" He hated how the last bit came out as a question.

"You don't sound all that confident, cupcake. Try again."

"I-Er..." Clearing his throat again, Rhys took a deep breath..... and almost regretted it as he was instantly bombed with Jack's scent. Letting a small cough in his fist, he barely managed to cover up his near choking on the smell. "We could talk about.... anything really. The moon, our favorite movies...." Jack still hadn't changed his expression much. At least instead of "I'm going to kill all alphas" it changed to "Really?" with his bland look and raised brow.

Once more, his hand raised to scratch the back of his head. "M-maybe... ohhh..... Robotics....?" He wished he didn't suck at conversation. He really wished he didn't. The sudden silence that followed his comment. was so thick that he could hardly breath, shifting his weight from foot to foot as his hands played with some stray string on his shirt.

"Robotics? You know anything about building bots and shit?" Jack questioned, lowering his brow and pushing a little off the wall to the points he wasn't resting all his weight on it, lowering his arms as he stared at the alpha in front of him, slightly interested. "What's your name, kiddo?"

Rhys swore he could almost fall over at that point. "I-M-My name is Rhys!" He stuttered, wincing at the lack of smoothness. Letting out a weak and nervous chuckle, he shifted his weight to stay on one of his feet. "And y-yeah. I'm a programmer for my company. I also help design and build things like bots and weapons...." 

Jack's look hardened over him as his eyes flicked up and down Rhys' form as if either judging or assessing him. For a moment, Rhys thought he had made a mistake in confessing his job before a smirk appeared on Jack's face.

"Alright, reese's pieces. I have a day off tomorrow. Meet me here at three."

\---

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"Bro?! What is it?! What's going on?!" Vaughn screamed, hearing Rhy's yell. He had been on his workout bike in the other room when he heard Rhys scream while leaning on the closed door of their apartment. Thinking Rhys was in trouble, it had sent Vaughn's alpha's instincts wild, thinking someone was hurting his pack member before charging in the room with the stun baton they shared, only relaxing once he looked his best friend over for injuries and finding none other than the bruises on his neck.

"Bro what happened?! Where did you get those bruises?!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"Rhys! Are you listening to me?! Hey!"

"AHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Rhys!!"

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" SMACK Vaughn had smacked Rhys, making the taller alpha snap out of it and rub his sore cheek, taking a deep breath as he held the door nob tightly in his hand. "Thanks buddy...." He spoke to Vaughn, sliding down the door until he was sitting, placing his face in his hands.

"No problem, man." Vaughn slowly replied, looking down at Rhys before kneeling before him and putting a hand to Rhys' shoulder. "Dude, are you okay? What happened?"

Rhys let out a loud, strangled groan before mumbling something and glancing up to Vaughn. "I spoke to him. I spoke to Jack." Vaughn backed away and sputtered, dropping the stun baton before crawling back to Rhys and shaking him.

"Are you crazy?! Do you want to die? How are you still alive after that?!" Vaughn's shakes were harder than he had meant them but they hadn't hurt. What did hurt was the back of Rhys' head hitting the door he was leaning on. Brushing Vaughn's hands away, he took a deep shuddering breath.

"So.... It turns out that... I might.. have gotten... a date with him....?" the taller alpha admitted, smiling nervously. "I-I think so. At least." He finished, playing with his fingers. Vaughn just stared at him in horror before shaking his head. "Dude.... you are dead..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie. I am TRYING to make these chapers longer and more eventful but it's hard. Hahaha. I'm trying.


	4. Chapter 4

"So when you die, can I have your sock collection?" Vaughn asked, leaning against Rhys' bedroom door frame with arms crossed and a smile on his face. He had been joking of course but he couldn't help but be worried for his friend's safety. The whole thing had the smaller alpha all agitated since Rhys told him. Despite Rhys trying to reassure him that everything would be alright, Vaughn had lost a lot of sleep just by thinking of all the possibilities of the day going so bad that he would find Rhy's body in a river or a ditch somewhere. Even now as he stood in front of his best friend's room and watching him figure out what outfit to wear for his supposed date with the known alpha killer Handsome Jack.

Dropping a tuxedo to the floor, Rhys gave Vaughn the most deadpanned expression he could while clearly showing how nervous he was with his posture. "Hardy har har." Rhys stated blandly as he turned from his full body mirror to open his closet. "Sure, make fun of my expense. You're still not getting my socks." He pulled out a dress shirt from the closet, holding a finger up and glancing at Vaughn. "And no you won't get any of my trust funds. We talked about this." he said before his friend could even get another word; a smile bloomed loosely on his face to show he was joking.

Rolling his eyes, Vaughn pushed off the door frame to scratch the back of his neck as Rhys resumed his position in front of the mirror, holding the shirt to his chin. "Oh no, how could I possibly afford that limbo now." Joked Vaughn, raising a brow at the other alpha's fashion choice. "Are you going to meet up with him or take him to prom, bro?" Rhys groaned and let the shirt drop.

"I don't know what to wear Vaughn. I'm not exactly the brightest when it comes to what counts as a date." Crossing his arms, Rhys allowed himself to place his face in one hand, huffing at how ridiculous he must look right now. Almost as it sensing Rhy's distress, Vaughn walked in and patted his shoulder. 

"Well, I'm not an expert, bro. But if I had to guess-" Vaughn bent down to pick up one of the many discarded dress shirts and handed it to Rhys, who took it instantly out of instinct. "-I'd say you want to wear a dress shirt at least. You want to look nice but not overdressed. You want to impress him without looking like a total knothead, right?" The small alpha asked, giving Rhys a calming smile while retaining his nervousness for his friend. Seeing Rhys nod slowly as if he was waiting for some sort of punchline. Rolling his eyes again, Vaughn shoved a pair of nice dress pants to him. "So what are you waiting for? Get dressed." Then he turned and left the room, closing the door to allow Rhys his privacy.

And dress he did. It was moments like these that Rhys was glad Vaughn was his best friend. While the taller alpha would lose his mind over stressful issues like this, Vaughn was always one to help him and keep him level headed despite everything else. Pulling off his clothes, he was quick to slip on the slightly fancy outfit that his said best friend handed him, he put on his traditional cologne and reached in a drawer nearby and pulling out one of his favorite ties, slipping it on. Once dressed, he stepped out of the room to get his hair ready when Vaughn stopped him, instantly frowning.

"Lose the tie, bro." Vaughn demanded, crossing his arms in disapproval while shaking his head. "That's too dressy. And untuck your shirt. If this is a date, you can always tuck it back in but we have no idea if it is." Vaughn was quick to pull Rhys' shirt from his pants and snatched off the tie despite Rhys' attempts at stopping him. If there was one thing Rhys had to give Vaughn credit for besides his level head, it was his quickness. Vaughn was known for being quick to slip in and out of doors when people opened them, just when they were closing without touching the door like a shadow.....or a snake... Looks like that skill worked for removing unwanted additions to his best friend's outfit.

"I like my ties." Rhys grumbled, snatching the tie back but didn't bother to put it back on. Instead he tossed it back in his room. "Anything about my hair, Mr. Fashion?" Hearing Vaughn give a soft chuckle earned a smile on the taller alphas face.

"No bro. Your traditional hair style is enough. Just do it like you do every day. Maybe a little less gel though?" The smaller alpha suggested, earning an eye roll from Rhys as the man went into the bathroom to work on his hair and brush his teeth. While Rhys was in the bathroom, Vaughn snuck off to grab a package that Yvette had left them a while ago. Their other friend was always busy and rarely had time to spend with them unless it was her lunch or days off. Sometimes if they were lucky, they'd catch her just as she was leaving for work. Ripping the package open, he pulled out two small nose spray bottles and set one on the counter before returning to the bathroom door just as Rhys stepped out.

"What's this?" Rhys asked once Vaughn had placed the spray in his hand. It was small and just fit in the palm of his hand. Looking on the back, he could barely ready the label and the usage. The money man fixed his glasses with a grin.

"Nasel suppressor, Bro. For alphas." Informed Vaughn, giving a small casual shrug. "It'll make Jack's scent bearable to you."

"Oh. Thanks bro. I could use this." With a smile at the gift, he stuffed it in his pocket before blinking as he stared down at Vaughn who looked pretty proud of himself. "So when did you have time to get this? I just told you about the date with Jack yesterday and you were with me all day."

Shifting on his feet, Vaughn played with his glasses for a bit. "Weeeeeelllll technically Yvette got it for us." He admitted, giving a sheepish grin. "She said she had a feeling one of us would need it eventually so she bought a double pack." Then he frowned, going completely serious. "But use that wisely. Those things are hard to get a hold of and are surprisingly expensive. Only use it if absolutely necessary. We can't afford a constant flow of those things." And secretly Vaughn hoped they wouldn't need a constant flow of that. But if Rhys did somehow manage to end up with Jack, he wasn't sure he could handle the omega's scent. Rhys wasn't the only one affected by Handsome Jack's scent but unlike his friend, Vaughn knew better than to get close to the omega after hearing the story of an alpha named Namayaka floating down a stream with his neck being broken in half and covered in blood and bruises.

Not seeing his friend's discomfort, Rhys gave Vaughn a smile and bent down, hugging the smaller man, who returned the hug with a defeated sigh and a grin. "Thanks Vaughn. You and Yvette are the best."

"No problem bro." turning his wrist, Vaughn couldn't help but laugh quietly. "And bro. You're five minutes late."

"Shit!!"

\---

He hadn't meant to speed all the way to the store but he did. Rhys also drove through three red lights, which in itself was a miracle that he hadn't crashed from doing that. But he was so focused on being there on time. Even if Jack had been pulling a joke on him, He at least wanted to show that he was willing to take the whole thing seriously. Parking in the closest space he could when he got in there, he all but bolted inside the store.

At first he didn't see the omega, but he smelt him. How could he not when the man worked there. But this scent was fresh and easy to follow. Having used the spray when he walked in, he didn't feel the uncontrollable lust that normally came with the smell and followed the scent only to find the man sitting in a restaurant that was joined in the store. Jack was sitting on one of the tall chairs while leaning on the table and drinking a chocolate milkshake. His legs pressed against each other like a girl in a small skirt and his feet wrapped around the bars between the chairs legs. He looked a little dressed up, a nice yellow button up with a pair of faded jeans and black converse shoes. Jack hadn't noticed Rhys just yet, focused on his phone, scrolling on it while leaching off the restaurant's wifi.

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He couldn't keep his eyes from straying over Jack's form from his squared, muscled shoulders to his slightly rounded hips. It almost made him purr. Male omegas, unlike alpha or betas, often had a more bowl to their hips unlike the traditional square shape like most males have. If anything that was the only thing that didn't scream masculinity on the man but Rhys would never even dream of holding that over the omega's head.

Shaking his head, he straightened up and walked into the restaurant, stepping to the table where Jack lounged at; prepared to announce his arrival to the other man when Jack looked up from his phone to gaze at Rhys almost bored. "About time you got here, cupcake." The omega stated with a bit of humor in his tone. "Finished picturing me naked yet or do you need more time to get it out of your system?" Rhys could only blush and squawk at the accusation before he was interrupted by Jack climbing out of his seat. "Alright, pumpkin. Come on. Got a busy day today."

Watching Jack brush past him, Rhys stood there dumbly as he attempted to wrap his mind around the omega's intentions. "I-uh... We do?" His question got Jack to pause at the entrance before looking back at Rhys with a raised brow in exasperation.

"Yes we do, dum dum. Now come on. You're driving." And without waiting for another response, he softly push past a nervous omega as she was returning to her table with food. He quickly gave her an apology before going back to chasing Jack, matching the older man's speed with a little difficulty. Looking around as they headed for the store's exit, he cleared his throat. "Uh.... Where are we going?"

Jack chuckled. "YOU are taking me out to dinner then WE will go see a movie." Looking over at Rhys, his eyes shown his amusement. "Sound good, dum dum?" Rhys nodded, more out of amazement than surprise. He almost missed the slightly off look Jack gave him before the expression vanished and Jack looked out to the cars that lay on the other side of the sliding glass doors. 

To say that Jack was surprised at how easily the alpha gave into his demands right then and there was a new and refreshing thing to him. Normally when omegas made any final statements or demands like he did, the alphas would waste no time in beating the omega or pulling them away for "punishment". The practice was very common and legal. Omega misbehaves, they must be dealt with like spoiled children. Seen and not heard. But this.... This was the most enjoyable thing he had ever experienced and he had to say, he hoped it would last. Jack found he rather liked to be in control, especially over an alpha.

"Hey, kiddo. Where's your car?" His question seemed to snap Rhys from his thoughts and the alpha shook his head. "Oh-uh. This way." Rhys went to grab at Jack's arm as if to lead him like he normally did with Vaughn or Sasha. But he stopped when Jack gave his disapproval glare and backed a little out of reach. Noticing this, Rhys blushed in shame and scratched the back of his neck, dropping the offending arm. "Sorry. This way." Then he stepped away, allowing Jack to follow without escort to the car he owned.

He had only just gotten the doors unlocked when he heard a low whistle. Looking up, he saw Jack staring at the car, looking a little impressed and his hand reached out as if he wanted to touch it.

"A Buick? Damn kiddo. I love Buicks. Especially the old models. Always looked round compared to the pointy shapes." Rhys kept that information in the back of his head with a smile. So Jack liked Cars that had rounded edges. Good to know.

"Thank you. I saved up for this a while ago." He tilted his head and bit his lip, watching Jack's hands practically hover over the car. "You can touch it, you know."

"I don't need your permission." Jack huffed as if a spoiled child but touch the car he did, indeed. His eyes trailing over the vehicle before pulling his hands away, watching Rhys climb in the car and was quick to climb in the passenger seat, humming in approval as the wood design on the inside, uttering a small "Nice." as he buckled his seat belt.

Clicking his own belt in place, Rhys backed out of the parking space, keeping a good eye so he didn't hit anyone, he chuckled. "So where's this place you had picked out?"

Giving a smirk, Jack relaxed in his seat. "I'll point you the way, Rhysie. Just drive."

\---

The restaurant Jack had picked to eat at was far from fancy but at least it wasn't a fast food place like he had feared when they got to the territory that Rhys was far from familiar with. Once inside, Rhys gave a sigh when he felt the A/C. On a hot day, the cool air was a pleasure to have. Getting a table was quick and was done so without a word. Silently, the two ended up sitting there, looking at their menus while Jack played with a small creamer cup in one hand.

Looking up every once in a while at the omega, he couldn't help but smile. But the silence was getting to him. Setting his menu on the table, he cleared his throat and glanced around casually before turning back to the other man. "So.... Uh..." He cleared his throat again, making Jack look back up at him. "Did-Ah.... You want to talk?... Or something?"

Jack shrugged with a smirk. "I don't know. You tell me. You're the one who wanted to talk."

"B-but you're the one-" Rhys stopped his sentence with a sigh, not willing to argue with the omega and instead, chose to take a deep calming breath. "Alright. Fair enough...." He opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them. "You...." He paused, thinking. What could they talk about? To be blunt about it, Rhys was never good with conversation. The sudden date in itself was a surprise and he hadn't prepared anything at all to talk about. Going over his interaction with the older man, he smiled weakly, remembering how interested Jack was in his arm.

"Do you want to hear about my arm?" He asked, seeing Jack suddenly look up, his heterochromia eyes instantly landing on Rhys' arm with interest. Jack stopped tapping the liquid creamer cup and pushed it away, resting his head in his hands, crossing his fingers to entwine with each other in his fascination. "I do love a good story, Rhysie." Jack answered with a grin, eyes going up to lock with Rhys'.

Giving a soft laugh, Rhys went on how he had lost his arm during work a year ago along with his eye. A gun had exploded on him when he was testing it which cost him his limbs in which his bossed paid to have them replaced by using Rhys' own design. Imagine his surprise when they got into building and designing, that Jack had ended up offering advice on how he could improve his arm. When the alpha voiced how impressed he was and asked why he didn't apply for work at Hyperion, Jack gave a shrug, doing his best to show how he wasn't bothered by the question.

"I'm an omega, Rhysie. In case it escaped your notice, Omega's aren't super really allowed to work. We're allowed grunt possessions if we're lucky. Heck, I was lucky to even land that shitty job. If it wasn't for my brother then I would have landed on my ass out somewhere, stealing just to get a meal."

"You have a brother?" Rhy found himself asking, brow raising in surprise. Jack nodded. Apparently he got asked that a lot. "Yeah. Timothy. Or Tim-Tams as I called him. He's my twin. Only difference is, he was lucky to be born a beta." The words were sour to Jack and his face showed Rhys that much. The omega was glaring at Rhys now, or rather, through him. The alpha suppose it had to do with his brother that was making him upset.

Before he could get another word out, the waitress had come over and asked for their orders. The exchange was.... awkward to say the least. She hadn't even bothered to look at Jack in the least. When it came to getting the omega's order, she spared him a glance and instead asked Rhys what "His omega" wanted, earning a twitchy eye and a growl from Jack as if he was threatening her mentally. She ended up flinching away at the growl, earning a laugh from Rhys before the alpha frowned.

"He's not 'My omega'. Why don't you ask him instead of me? It's not like I can read his mind." Rhys liked to say Jack was impressed but he couldn't see past the blank, hardened stare that the omega was giving the table. It at least was worth it to see the female alpha gaping at him as if he had smacked her or called her mother was a llama.

The food, when it eventually got there, was good. Rhys had gotten a chicken meal while Jack ended up with a salad in which he didn't actually finish, claiming that the bitch had ruined his appetite.

Finishing his drink, the alpha looked over to see the omega pull out his wallet. "No, no. Let me get the bill." Raising from his seat, Rhys went to grab his own wallet when Jack hissed and smacked him with a napkin.

Snarling, Jack glared at him, pulling money out. "I'm the one paying. You sit your tiny alpha ass down and wait for me to get back." Leaving no room to argue, Jack stomped off to pay for the meal. Sighing, Rhys sat back down in his seat, swirling his Dr. Pepper with his straw, keeping an eye on Jack as the omega seemed to be arguing with one of the workers. Occasionally he would see them point at Rhys, barely able to make out the high pitch mocking tone as they spoke to Jack, who looked barely able to contain himself as he slammed the money on the counter and grab the receipt and storm back to the table.

Standing, Rhys worriedly bit his lip. "What happened?" He questioned as Jack grabbed his coat and a couple liquid creamers, slurping them down before slamming the plastic cups on the table. "What did they say, Jack?" the alpha's own eyes hardened frowning deeply as his eyes quickly glanced to the counter at the betas who realized they pissed an alpha off.

"Forget those assholes. Let's go." The omega all but growled out as he pushed over Rhys' drink, making it spill onto the floor. Biting his lip again, He went to pull his wallet out. "At least let me tip."

"Don't bother. Bad service gets no tip."

Rhys proudly stuffed his wallet back in his pocket without complaint.

\---

"Does that happen often?" They hadn't stepped out of the restaurant for more than five minutes when he couldn't help but ask, leaning on his car. Jack hadn't said anything once they got out into the hot world. With a jerky nod and a murderous look on his face, the omega growled with a slight redness on his cheek. Frowning again, Rhys, placed his hand to his face, he bit at his thumb. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Jack snapped, looking over at Rhys while crossing his arms. "You didn't do anything wrong. It was them. And guess what. It will happen everywhere I go. So expect it to happen all day today."

Looking down, the alpha continued to bite his thumb, mumbling. "It's not fair. You're human too. Why do they do that to omegas?"

Hearing that, Jack snorted, going to Rhys' side to lean on the car as well and shrugs. "Why do they still treat women like shit? Omegas and woman. Many would rather have them barefoot and pregnant at home than working. Even in this day and age."

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard." Rhys stated, giving the omega a deadpanned expression, making the omega laugh when he saw it.

"I know, Kiddo. But that's how it is." Turning his head away, Jack starts laughing uncontrollably before glancing back at Rhys. "Can you imagine it? ME? Pregnant and barefoot?"

 _"Yes."_ Rhys wanted to say. But then again, he could also see Jack running a company as a CEO. But maybe that was just his brain thinking. Either way, what little he knew about the omega always resulted in him and Rhys together (which in a way could also be the alpha part of his brain on his potential mate).

"Because I sure as hell can't." Jack continued, not realizing Rhys' dreamy expression at thinking about Jack pregnant. "I mean, don't get me wrong, cupcake. I want kids but at MY time with who I chose."

Smiling encouragingly, the alpha couldn't help but give a soft not. "That I believe. You're no pushover." Jack only hummed in agreement before they both went silent again. Looking over the omega's features, he sighed, still smiling. "So......." catching the omega's attention with one word, he continued. "About the movie....."

"Forget it." Jack sighed, using his thumb to pick dirt from under his nails. "I don't feel like dealing with people after that. They day was already ruined now that I made a fool of myself."

"It wasn't your fault." Rhys blurted quickly, earning a raised brow from the older man. Blushing, Rhys cleared his throat. "I-I mean... You didn't make a fool out of yourself. They insulted you and.... d-degraded you... It wasn't right...." Looking down, he scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with the intimidating omega. Another silence fell between them and Rhys continued. "Want to watch a movie at my place then?" Seeing Jack's eyes start to narrow, he quickly waved his hands in front of his face, fearfully. "No funny business. I can sit on the floor and you take the couch. It's just that..." He blushes again. "A movie does sound nice and.... Maybe it'll.... cheer you up?" He winces and clenches his eyes, waiting for Jack to start yelling when instead he felt a hand rub his head and heard a chuckle.

"Alright kiddo. I can try that." Opening his eyes, Rhys smiled at the response. Maybe the omega was starting to trust him after all? "But if you try anything, I will kill you." Maybe not. How Jack managed to keep a smile on his face and tone so light like a butterfly, he'd never know. At least it was an improvement. Giving a nervous smile, he nodded quickly. "No problem."

"That'a boy!" Then Jack patted his head before pulling his hand away and climbed into the passenger seat. Rhys quickly ran to the drivers seat before pausing to eye Jack. "What did they say anyway?" He frowned curiously. Seeing Jacks confused expression, he cleared his throat in his hand. "The waitresses?"

He could see the recognition on Jack's face as he smirked. "They asked when the baby was due."

Rhys hadn't laughed that hard in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lookie lookie. A long-ish chapter. It's 4 in the morning and I'm tired. I'm going to bed now. Night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter's going to be pretty short. It's kind of them telling each other stories. I plan to make the next chapter longer and more eventful.
> 
> Also I read everyone's comments even if I don't respond to them. They make me so happy. I am glad people love my story.

A month. That's how long he and Jack have known each other since their first date. The "relationship" seemed to go off and on throughout the month, only meeting up when Jack called Rhys up at random times. Sometimes those times included when Rhys was working. Eventually they ended up giving each other copies of their schedules so there wouldn't be anymore interruptions at work. They didn't speak much about each other the times they did get together though; tending to stick to comfortable topics while they went out. Often times they had been ignored by many or Rhys would be complimented (or whined and bitched at) for the fact that someone was able to tame the fabled Handsome Jack. The omega was less than pleased and the alpha had to actually physically hold Jack back from killing the alpha he had just beaten to a bloody mess.

Sadly it got to the point where Jack would get too stressed to continue their dates because of many reasons, Namely people, and would end the dates in the middle, leaving Rhys to go home alone with his proverbial tail between his legs. Third time that happened, he had suggested dating at each others houses or in secluded areas as to not ruin the date for the omega. Needless to say it took a lot of convening (and a lot of chocolate milkshakes) for Rhys to get Jack to agree with coming over to his house, considering Jack was still uneasy around him in areas that lacked other people.

So that's how they ended up in Rhys' apartment, watching football and drinking bottled beer. At first the omega declined the drink but reluctantly ended up getting up from his seat to go grab one before returning to the couch to curl next to Rhys with the promise of maiming him if he told anyone. The threat only prompted a laugh from the alpha, starting to get used to the threats the omega made. Vaughn had left before the two had arrived. When Jack had made his rare appearances, the small alpha would either lock himself in his room of suddenly "remembering" That he had something important to do in town. While amused, the omega never said a word about the man's absence.

Rhys, in all his time knowing Jack, had never seen the omega look so relaxed and happy than when he was, watching football. The man would often laugh at the violence or make wisecracks when one of the players had to be taken off the field in a stretcher (and in all honestly, Rhys should have probably been a bit worried about that). Giving a tender smile at Jack as the said man wiped a tear from his face after laughing for about five minutes straight, he took a drink from his bottle and turned back to the screen, silently.

It wasn't until the game had ended did Rhys lower the volume and both turned their bodies to face each other on the couch, laying on the sofa lazily. 

"I never knew you enjoyed football so much." Rhys found himself commenting as he lowered his bottle from his lips. And it was true. He thought the omega hated sports with how much the man went on about electronics, machinery and video games. Turned out that Jack was a big closet gamer.

Jack shrugged and raised the bottle, wobbling a little where he sat before leaning against the arm of the couch. "Ah, I played it back in high school. No big." He gave another shrug, taking a big gulp of his beer.

Raising a brow in surprise, the alpha watched the omega chug a large portion of his beer before the man lowered the bottle. "I never knew you played. Did you ever try to go pro?" At the question, Jack's mood went sour and Rhys winced. 'Oh no. Bad question...'

"I did-" Jack admitted, kicking up one of his shoe free feet to rest them on Rhys' lap, wiggling his toes lazily in his sock. "And I was rejected. Sad thing is that omegas are also not allowed to play sports. Some kind of-" He waved his hand with the beer bottle around casually. "'Too weak to play' bullshit and we need to be protected." Jack gave a snort. "Yeah right. As if that was true."

Biting his lip, Rhys used his free hand to rub Jack's foot lightly. "I'm sorry... It must have been tough. You seemed to like it so much."

"Yeah I did, kiddo. But nothing lasts."

"Can I know what happened?"

The older man was silent for a bit. His face seemed to shift through varying emotions before he settled on neutral and sighed. "Alright, kid. Let me tell you a story. One about a kid named John." Sitting back until his entire weight was shared on the back and arm of the couch before he continued.

"There was a little boy named John. He had a brother named Tim and they lived in a big house with their parents. John had joined the football team the second he could walk. And he was good at it. His team loved him and would invite him to every party available. This went on for years and John loved every second of his perfect life. Then one day in high school, the team start getting into fights when John was seventeen. They fought each other to the point where a guy was sent to the hospital. They had smelled an omega in the mens locker room and it was driving them crazy. Fearing the worst, John's parents took him to the doctors to have him evaluated, having wished they just had a sexless son. Nope." Jack took another chug of his beer before continuing.

"Obviously, finding out he was an omega, John didn't think anything of it. All he knew was that his parents were upset and he was sent to school with a note for the principle." Jack's teeth bared and his eyes clinched. "Imagine his surprise the next day when he went to get ready for practice when he finds out he's no longer allowed to play football. His team eyed him like a piece of meet and treated him like trash. And to top it all off, John got bullied and sexually harassed the rest of the year with only his beta brother to back him up." Jack's voice got rougher and his voice became strained and wavering.

"John spent the entire year, hiding from people trying to touch him. Constantly eyeing him, catcalling and mocking him for something he couldn't help..... The year after that, he got expelled for almost sending one of his harassers in the hospital. A teacher who went for him the moment he turned eighteen."

Rhys' grip had tightened on Jack's foot, looking horrified by what he had heard. Scooting closer, the alpha pulled the omega into his arms, feeling the man stiffen before he began to slowly relax in his arms. "I'm sorry Jack... You didn't deserve that."

"Damn right, I didn't." The omega growled strongly but his voice still shook and his eyes pricked with wet tears. "No omega does but that's life, right? All for the alpha and none for the omega...."

"I....Things will be different....I promise.... One day...." Rhys muttered, holding the omega tighter, feeling Jack wrap his arms around the alpha in a tight vice-like grip, feeling the omega's tears leak into his shirt as the man struggled not to cry. How bad was it for omegas that resulted in the strongest man Rhys ever knew to break into tears? Did he even want to know?

Instead of asking, Rhys was content to hold the sobbing omega who began to tire from their earlier alcohol consumption. Listening to only the man's quiet sniffles and the low volume on the television, the alpha buried his face in Jack's hair, happy that he remembered to take his nasal spray. After a couple minutes of simply holding the man, Rhys lifted his head to ask sloppily.

"You're name is John?"

Jack just gave a weak chuckle.

\---

"So what's your story, Rhysie." Jack asked, standing in the kitchen the next morning, taking bits and peices of the bacon that Rhys was cooking, tearing pieces off and eating them. Jack and Rhys had ended up sleeping on the couch the entire night, only waking up when Jack needed to get up to use the restroom.

"My story?" Quirking an eyebrow, he pouted and pushed Jack's hand from the bacon only to have his own hands play slapped as Jack took the whole plate as he continued to eat. In mid bite, Jack waved his hand with a half eaten bacon in it.

"Ya know. Your story. How you found out you were an alpha." Jack stated, as if the topic was the most obvious thing in the world, bringing the bacon back to his mouth to munch on. Rhys blinked, looking at the frying bacon he was cooking, getting ready to fry some eggs in another pan. Using a fork, he turned the bacon over.

"Well.... let me think... It's been years. My parents had me by accident but they loved me. But they worried for me because I was so small and frail when I was born. I hadn't gotten much different as I grew up. My parents were protective of me because they thought I was omega. At the time, I never even gave it a thought on why my parents were so clingy and protective of me until I got to high school. Everyone in school thought I was omega but they could never prove it since I hadn't gone through puberty yet." Setting his fork down after playing with the bacon through his story. 

"Not much to tell. All I can say that my parents fell off the couch when they found out I was an alpha." He chuckled again. "My dad was so proud and ran out in the street, screaming how his son was an alpha. A beta threw a shoe at him because it was in the middle of the night." Looking over, he saw Jack smirk and shake his head at Rhys. Rolling his eyes, Rhys smiled. "So. How did your parents take it?"

Jack shrugged, leaning against the counter before putting the nearly empty plate on the counter. "Mother committed suicide and I was left in dad's care. He wasn't exactly happy about it. Always commented on how I don't look like a proper omega and did what he could to make me look-" The omega raised his hands to do air quotes. "Softer." He lowered his hands and rolled his eyes.

"Then he ended up dying from a heart attack. Timmy got the company and I was left in my grandmother's care." Jack's lips thinned. "I don't want to talk about her."

Rhys bit his tongue to keep from asking and made up the two plates of eggs and what little bacon they had after the Jackasourous had gotten to it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things getting..... intense??? I tried to add more and to make it longer. I'm sorry if I failed doing that.

"Hey bro. I thought you'd be hanging out with Jack today." Vaughn commented while aggressively pounding the buttons on his controller; fighting a boss on his game, smiling when he sees Rhys' character zip past his own. Rhys shrugged, pushing the buttons on his own controller, sitting beside Vaughn on the couch.

"He had a doctors appointment. He said he'd see me later." Replied the taller alpha, cheering as they beat the boss before looting all the dropped items. "So I thought I'd spend my time with you. I know we haven't hung out much since I got with Jack."

"Hey, I'm not mad, bro. You're happy." Vaughn stole some of the Rhys' loot which made the taller alpha pout. "You guys-you know.... Kiss yet?" Rhys choked on his spit, coughing loudly, bending over to hack into his fist, gasping for air.

Once he was able to force himself to stop coughing, he looked up to see his best friend looking at him, very amused with his controller in his lap as the smaller man struggled not to laugh. "That was low, bro." Rhys muttered, eyes glancing away. He could feel his cheeks heat up with a blush as Vaughn just laughed, holding his gut.

Rhys hit him with a pillow.

\---

Rhys missed his time with Vaughn. It was a month and three days since he was able to actually hang out with the guy since Jack practically demanded all his time, calling at the most random times. It was moments when he got a break from the omega, that he treasured his time with his other friends. Not that his time with Jack was a bother or taxing. it was just that he rarely got the time to enjoy his friends.

Speaking of friends. After the game, he and Vaughn ended up going out to the local cyber cafe to enjoy some time out of the house, sharing a computer and watching YouTube as they shared earbuds, laughing at funny videos quietly as they sipped their coffee and commented on the videos when a shadow from behind them distracted them. Turning to look behind him, Rhys gulped, pulling his earbud out of his ear. Vaughn also turned, looking nervous when he saw who it was.

"Fiona..." Rhys cleared his throat as he looked her over. She didn't look angry despite her stance with arms crossed and arched brow with a humored smile on her face. "Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I know what happened Rhys. I'm not mad- at either of you. And she still wants to be friends. Besides, I figured it wouldn't work out between you two anyway." Rhys snorted while Vaughn glanced between them as if he hadn't heard right but refused to question it.

"That's good." Rhys commented dryly but smiled. "And here I was, worried you were going to beat me up for hurting your sister." He chuckled, followed by Vaughn.

"We all know that she could easily do that." Vaughn butted in, laughing harder when Rhys gave him a weak glare. Patting the taller alpha's shoulder, he stiffed his laugh but unable to hide the grin on his face. "Sorry bro."

"Don't tempt me." Fiona joked, pulling a chair up to them to sit, making both alphas relax with a sigh as the beta got comfortable. Once she settled, Rhys was able to catch her scent. Fiona normally smelled like a mixture between honey and tea while also drowned in her husband, Scooter's, greasy and oil scent from his job on cars. 

Yet today, there was something off about her smell. "Anyway I have news for you. And you guys are my best friends. Sasha already knows but...." She was grinning widely like a Cheshire cat at this point, playing with her fingers.

Rhys and Vaughn shared a look of confusion and anxiousness before they turned back to her. "So what is it?" Vaughn questioned with a tilt of his head. Fiona said nothing, only holding out two presents for them. They took the gifts slowly, examining them curiously. Yet while the smaller alpha wasted no time to rip into his gift, Rhys turned his over in his hands, squishing it and feeling nothing much. Was it socks? It felt like socks.

Hearing Vaughn gasp on his side, Rhys looked over to try and see what it was but in his shock, Vaughn had squished the item back in the wrapper it had come in.

"Are you serious?!" Vaughn questioned, leaning forward in his seat, making Fiona bite her finger to keep from laughing and nodding. Vaughn sputtered and threw his hands in the air before sinking into the chair he sat in like a sack of potatoes. Annoyed at not knowing, Rhys tore into his present, lifting up a folded white fabric. It was folded into a neat square as he examined it. Unfolding it, his eyes grew when he saw a baby onesie with words in big bold letters that said "Uncle Rhys" On the front.

"Oh my GOD!!!" he exclaimed, standing up to pick Fiona in his arms. She began patting his back roughly as she laughed as Rhys held her close. "I'm going to be an uncle!!!"

"I know bro!! Me too!!" Vaughn held up the onesie with the words "Uncle Vaughn" on it.

\---

"S-so does... I mean. Scooter knows right?" Rhys asked. The excitement from the news was still running through him even after they had left the cyber cafe to walk down the sidewalk of the city, passing buildings as they walked aimlessly. He was had the onesie he was given in his backpack while Vaughn still held his own in his hands, staring at it like he was given the lost treasure of Atlantis.

"No. I decided to just say 'Fuck it. let me tell my friends before the father'- Of course he does." She chuckled, punching Rhys in the arm playfully, making him laugh nervously and rubbing where he was punched, the spot stinging a bit. 

"He wouldn't shut up about it for weeks. I'm surprised he didn't run to you, screaming that he was going to be a dad, at the top of his lungs like he did with everyone else." She commented, amused at the antics of her bonded.

Rhys let a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "W-well I have been pretty busy lately."

Fiona raised a brow curiously as she eyed the alpha, bemused. "You have? You mean you haven't been just sitting around and playing games or working? Amazing."

Rhys felt his cheeks heat up, avoiding running into someone who was on their cellphone as they passed. "I do other things besides work and video games, you know."

Fiona stopped, crossing her arms and tilting her head with an amused smirk on her lips, prompting the other two to stop with her. "Oh really?" The beta sassed. "Then what is it that has kept you so busy if not those two?"

The alpha went to open his mouth to answer but Vaughn beat him to it with the shake of his head and a sigh.

"Rhys has been going on dates with an omega from town." The small alpha eyed Rhys with squinted eyes. "A dangerous omega..." Rhys frowned, pouting a little as he gave Vaughn a glare. It wasn't until Fiona snorted before chuckling, bringing a hand to her mouth in surprise.

"I.... Was not expecting that. Who is the lucky girl.... or man?" Her expression, while still amused and surprised, was mixed with confusion and curiosity. 

The tall alpha gave a dramatic sigh before looking between the two. "Him. And his name is Jack. And it's not that big of a deal." He sees their arched brows as if to say 'Really?' "It's not!" He exclaimed, desperately. "Come on guys! You know it's not a big deal! Come on!" He gave a nervous laugh, letting out a groan as his laugh died.

"Uh yeah, it is actually." Fiona stated, Vaughn nodding his head in agreement. "Rhys, the twenty five year old bachelor that is more obsessed with work than anything, has actually found himself a man. Who would have thought it?"

"Shut up." Rhys muttered dryly. His voice lacked any heat to his words and there was no bite to them. He knew they were only trying to rile him up and he, unfortunately, bit the bait. "Can we just change the subject please? I've humiliated myself enough as it is."

"Sure." Fiona chirped, pleased at the response she got as they continued their walk. After a few steps in silence, the beta smiled. "So when do we get to meet him?"

"When he agrees to meeting you. I want him comfortable when I introduce you all."

"Fair enough." She smiled sadly. "That's good. Omegas have it rough. You be good to him. Or else."

"I will Fiona. Only the best for him." Rhys grinned at her protectiveness over the omega she never met. "I'm pretty sure he'd kick my ass if I wasn't, anyway."

\---

After seeing that Fiona got back to Scooter's garage safely, the alpha couldn't avoid the excited beta as he held them both tightly and lifting them in the air, clearly still excited over the news of Fiona's pregnancy.

"God dang, ah can't wait!! I'm gonna name them Scrapper if it's a boy! Maybe Scooter Jr. And maybe a girl would be Little Fi after Fiona!!" Rhys stood there awkwardly as Scooter rambled to him while looking over at Fiona desperately. Vaughn had managed to wiggle away from the beta the second he and Rhys were set back to the ground and scurried over to the safety of Fiona.

Said person only laughed, ignoring Rhys' pleading gaze as he was left to her husband's excited rambling. He could barely contain his relieved sigh when his phone rang and he managed to break away to answer it while Scooter's attention then turned to Vaughn who looked like he was going to wet himself as the beta continued to babble while swinging a wrench in his excitement.

Stepping out of the garage, Rhys brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?" Frowning when he heard groaning on the other end. "Hello?"

"Rhys?"

"Jack?" Frowning, Rhys looked back at his friends in the garage before turning his back to them. "Is something wrong? You sound upset."

"I am..." Rhys could hear Jack hiss out a curse before the omega spoke again. "C-I want to come over, pumpkin. You home?"

"Not really." scratching at an itch on his neck, he hummed. "I'm at a friend's right now but I can come over to you. Where are you? I'll come over."

"No... No... I-shit... Rhys call me when you get home."

"Jack just tell me. Please. They can't hear you. I promise." He pleaded to the phone, leaning against a street light. "Or let me come get you. Please?"

The line was silent for a long while. If it hadn't been for the omega breathing, Rhys would have thought the man had hung up. He waited anxiously, growing more, and more nervous as time went by.

Finally Jack spoke. "Okay. Pick me up."

"Alright. Tell me where you're at and I will be right over."

\---

He ended up having to leave Vaughn with Fiona and Scooter, the smaller alpha wasn't exactly happy about that and looked desperate to escape but when Rhys explained that something was going on with Jack, he waved the man away hurriedly, stating that he'd rather be with the betas than Jack at the moment.

Rhys trecked all the way to his car that was at the cyber caffee and used the last bit of his suppressor once he was in his car before he turned on the gas. The directions Jack had given him led him to a broken part of town where the buildings were falling apart and one couldn't go five steps without seeing garbage everywhere. Eventually he had gotten to a beat up house where Jack sat on it's steps in an oversized gray hoodie and sweat pants, curled up and shivering as if he was cold in the ninety degree weather.

Fearing the worst, Rhys parked his car and climbed out before clambering to the omega, taking him in his arms and feeling Jack shivering like crazy. A strange scent hit his nose that made him pause, staring at the omega in wonder, secretly glad he had taken his suppressor.

"Jack.... Is... is it.....?" He struggled with his words. Feeling Jack shiver again, he held tighter, feeling the man shake his head.

"Not yet, kiddo... but close..." Jack groaned, pushing his face in Rhys' shirt, taking a deep breath and grabbed the cloth. "Take me to your car... I... I c-can't be seen like this..."

Rhys complied, refusing to ask anything until the omega was safely in the car. Jack was hard to move despite his obvious desire to squirrel himself away from prying eyes of the other omegas around. They appeared not to care for the most part other than giving casual glances of pity as Rhys got him to the car. Finally when they were both seated in the vehicle, Jack was able to let out a shudder and a small whine escaped him, making Rhys blush and gulp roughly.

"Do you... ah... Need me to get you omega suppressors?" He questioned, nervously biting his lip as he rubbed the omega's shoulder comfortingly. Jack shook his head, reaching up and grabbing the alpha's hand desperately.

"N-no.. No.. They don't do shit... I...." Hissing as he sucked in a deep breath, Jack let out the air he held in, shakily as he looked over at Rhys. "I wanted.. I wanted to tell you before it hit. Didn't trust you... Or maybe I was scared. I don't fucking know..." He let out another groan before looking Rhys dead in the eye. "Share my heat with me?"

"I-what?" the alpha stammered dumbly, eyes growing in surprised, not able to stop himself from looking the omega over while licking his lips. He watched as one of Jack's eyes twitched before the omega flinched.

"Y-You heard me... Share my heat-with me." He growled out, trying to hold back the reactions his body was fighting him with. "I d-don't want to be a-alone dur-ring this."

Rhys' lips thinned as he pondered. "I.... yes I would love to but...." he eyes the omega cautiously as he raised his hand to Jack's cheek, blushing as the older man pressed his face in his hand. "Are you sure... I-I mean, you must know what you're asking."

"I'm aware." The omega snapped, leaning on the dash, running his fingers through his hair. "And I'm sure." He let out a hiss of air as a shudder rocked his body. "Just make sure you have condoms or some sort of birth control at your place. I don't trust anyone not breaking in my house while we're there. I want it to be with you...."

Without another word, Rhys started the car, keeping his eyes on the road, glancing over at Jack every once in a while.

\---

The drive was silent as he drove. It felt like hours had passed before he had reached the apartment he shared with Vaughn. Even longer to get Jack inside without the omega being seen. He knew Jack wanted to avoid running into anyone as much as he could. Rhys had made sure to spray the hallway that lead to his room with some anti-oder air freshener before he closed and locked the door.

By now Jack was stumbling around the apartment, looking for Rhys' room. While he had been to the place multiple times, he avoided the bedrooms the best he could until now. Eventually the omega had figured out which room was Rhys' (aka, the alpha ended up leading the omega to it) and promptly flopped on the bed, groaning as he held one of Rhys' plush dragon close, shaking as he clawed at the sheets with his other hand.

After calling Vaughn and making sure that his roommate would have a place to stay for the week, he dragged himself to his room where Jack rested on his bed, hoodie having been peeled off and now the omega was only in his pants and socks, sweating as he curled around the stuffed dragon.

Gulping again, Rhys climbed in the bed, spooning Jack from behind. Wrapping his arm around Jack's waist, the omega shuddered. Nuzzling the older man's shoulder, he propped his head on Jack's shoulder, listening to the omega's ragged breathing, raising a hand to rub his hair.

"It'll be okay." Rhys hummed soothingly in Jack's ear. The omega whined before nodding.

"I know, kiddo.... I trust ya." Then the omega turned, pecking Rhys on the lips, making the alpha freeze. Quick to snap out of his daze, he smiles and kissed back, pulling his head away to give Jack a butterfly kiss on his shoulder.

Thank god he still had those condoms Sasha gave him as a joke a day before she broke up with him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's heat has Rhys such a confused baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Warning time.
> 
> NSFW! ages 18 and up please! Sex with a dick-less man. If this turns you off, skip to the next chapter when it comes out or stop reading. Or just skip. Whatever.
> 
> Aware of the warnings? Still here? Good. On to the story!! :D
> 
> Also, I am rusty at writing sex so please forgive me if it's bad.

Rhys woke from his nap with a sharp pain in his hand. Yelping, he looked down to see Jack biting on his flesh hand, growling as his teeth held tightly to Rhys' hand before whimpering and his body shaking. The omega had taken his pants off during their nap and was now on the bed naked, spooned under Rhys, the tall alpha draped over his naked body as he chewed on Rhys' hand.

"Ow!" Rhys cried out loudly, pulling his hand away, rubbing his metal hand over it; his fingers trailing where Jack's teeth left marks. Not seeing any blood, he rests his hand on Jack's back, blushing when he sees the omega's bare behind. Jack's the scent of the man's heat finally hitting him, making him wake fully as his eyes droop in lust. Purring as he rubbed his hand along Jack's waist, he smiles weakly, rubbing his thumb on the omega's bare flesh, making Jack groan. Nuzzling the back of Jack's neck where he felt Jack's bonding gland, he heard the omega gasp softly.

"So it's time..." Rhys mused to himself, rolling to lay on the omega's back, hearing the man under him moan and releasing soft pants. Growling, Jack turned his head, his head clouded by heat but still focused enough to bite at the alpha while bucking back, his behind pressed against Rhys' clothed member that was half mast from the smell alone.

"D-don't forget who's in ch-charge here." He snapped, raising his hips back to buck against Rhys' groin again sharply, making the alpha yelp. "Now get on w-with it... Before I l-lose my mind...." Then the omega bit his tongue to keep the needy moan from escaping his throat as Rhys was quick to lower his face to breathe deeply on Jack's neck.

Moaning, Rhys rocked his hips from side to side, his face going red. He hadn't expected his first time to go like this. He had always imagined losing his virginity to some young pretty female omega who hadn't gotten her first heat yet. Jack. He never would have thought it would be with him. Yet he wasn't complaining. Even while he was still coherent enough to boss the alpha around, he was still beautiful to Rhys. His eyes roaming over Jack's body as he shivered from lust and the cold of the room while his body was covered in sweat. Looking lower, Rhys had to bite his lip to keep from whining in need at the slight shine between the omega's legs, showing his arousal.

"O-Of course. You're the boss." Rhys gulped, nervously tugging Jack to roll the omega on his back, his eyes instantly growing when he noticed the lack of a...... lack of male genitals. The omega seemed to sense his surprise and was surprisingly able to roll his eyes, bucking his hips in the air.

"Deal with it, P-pumpkin. This i-is wh-what o-omega men h-have to dea-deal with." Jack bit out, eyes squinting while raising a leg over Rhys' shoulder, making the alpha's eyes grow even wider at his new view, instinctively putting his hands under the omega's hips to hold him up and in place.

It was one thing to look at a man's dick. Rhys had done that plenty of times when him and Vaughn would shower together when they both needed to get clean at the same time for some reason or another. But it was another thing to see the dripping arousal between an omega's legs. Even on men, the lack of male genitals on Jack was slightly awkward and alarming. His own male brain was still trying to work out the fact that the omega simply didn't have something that clearly should be there. But the other half of his brain was buzzing in excitement. He was going to breed. He was going to bury his cock deep into the body beneath him and bury his seed. That thought excited him more than it should have and snapped him out of his stupor.

Smiling, he lowered his face to eye at the dripping opening and moaned. The smell was stronger there and it was driving him crazy. Without thinking, he opened his mouth and licked over the lips of Jack's opening, making the omega let out a gasp in surprise as the man's eyes popped open in surprise and he let out a strangled squeal, baring his teeth as he attempts to keep anymore noises from escaping his mouth. Rhys could only smile, a tad bit smug at the reaction from Jack, he pressed his face closer, taking a deep whiff of that sweet smell as he lapped the nectar Jack was leaking, pushing his nose into his folds as he pushes in his tongue, enjoying the pleasing, strangled sounds Jack was making at his motions.

Jack was clenching the sheets just as tight as he was baring his teeth. The omega swore that if his teeth wouldn't break from the force he had them together than the sheets in his hands would. Clenching his eyes shut, he raised his other leg to Rhys' other shoulder, wrapping his limbs around the alpha's head to keep his lower half up. This action caused Rhys to raise one hand to hold up the newly raised leg to his head as he lapped at Jack's sopping hole, slurping up his juices as his tongue moved inside the omega, enticing a strangled mewl from Jack as his tongue searched inside him and touched his inner walls. The pleasure made a violent shudder shake Jack's body as sweat dripped more off him and onto the sheets under him.

Panting, Jack rolled his head to the side, opening one eye as his hot breath clouded in front of him with each pant for air. "F-Fuck kiddo...." He moaned, unable to hide his lustful noises. Wiggling his hips, he pressed them up more, forcing Rhys' tongue to go deeper inside of him, earning another gasp from the omega. "C-come on. Do-don't tea-tease me...." Jack growled, baring his teeth. But his words lacked any heat that he wanted them to. Instead his voice carried out his lust.

Rhys gave a smile, pulling his head away from between Jack's legs; his face red and wet from the lubrication and he lowered the omega's hips as he let out his own needy pants, wanting nothing more than to claim the man under him. Moving to climb over Jack, Rhys palmed his crotch, his fingers fumbling for the zipper of his pants while, his other hand to play with Jack between his legs, making the omega moan loudly as Jack arches his hips upwards, mewling when Rhys' fingers enter him. His eyes roll to the back of his head from the pleasure he was getting, Jack sits up, wrapping his arms around the alpha, inhaling the younger man's scent, humming at the spicy smell Rhys gave off. His natural musk clearly destroying the body spray the alpha had put on before.

Rhys gave his own moan, feeling the omega's weight on him as he shoves a third finger in Jack, hearing the omega moan as he jumps a little. Scissoring his fingers inside the man and hearing the pleasured noises escaping the man, the alpha let his body do the work for him as his brain all but shut down. Growling, he ripped his pants off with a strength he never knew he had before reaching up and pulling his shirt off. His own body was hot and ready to dominate the omega in his clutches and he wasn't going to waste precious time with clothes when the other alpha Rhys could smell, claim the omega. 

Had Rhys been in his right mind, he wouldn't be upset about Vaughn's scent. But with the alpha part of him in control, it couldn't be helped. Using his free hand, he pulls Jack's face from his neck to his own face to kiss the omega squarely on the lips, hearing the omega moan as Jack kisses back with closed eyes. Noses flared and panting, Rhys pulled his hands out of the needy omega, hearing the man whine irritably and push Jack on his back, spreading the omega's legs with a strong grip, not feeling any resistance from the omega. Pulling his face away, he stroked himself; moaning when he felt the omega kiss his neck. With a purr, Rhys pushed Jack's head away lightly to nip and kiss at the omega's neck, panting just as heavily as the body beneath him.

"C.....on.....dom...." Jack managed to breathe out as Rhys attacked his neck with bites and kisses, gasping and bucking up against Rhys while raising his arms to dig his nails into the alpha's back when he felt Rhys grind his member on his opening. "Condom..." Jack repeated, a bit more forceful while unable to open his eyes, enjoying the treatment he was being given. The alpha huffed, snapping out of it enough to pull a condom from his discarded and torn pants on the floor.

Pulling the condom open, he was quick to put it all the way on his hardened cock, feeling it throb in anticipation at the thought of sinking deep inside the omega's warmth. Satisfied that it was on properly, he climbed back on top of Jack, returning to his actions of worshiping the omega's neck and grinding on the man's opening. He felt the older man's nails in his back. He felt the heated looks from the multicolored eyes when Jack managed to get them pried open. He felt how slick it was when he sunk into the omega's warmth. Heard Jack hiss and growl when the skin inside him was broken from Rhys' taking his virginity. Pausing, Rhys allowed Jack to adjust, choosing to bend down to kiss the omega and mutter praises on how good he was doing.

Rhys had honestly no idea what he was doing. If he had to be truthful, he was doing things that he would want done to him if he was the one in Jack's place. It was all guessing for the most part. That and when it was his body doing it on it's own, it was better than he could imagine. The alpha had to take a few deep breaths to keep himself from cumming then and there inside the man who was still shaking from the sudden invasion on his body. Bending down, Rhys kissed the tears from Jack's pained face, holding him tightly and nuzzling Jack's neck, feeling the omega wrap his legs and arms around him in an attempt to bare with the pain he was feeling. It made Rhys feel bad. Wasn't sex supposed to feel good? Why was the omega hurting? Did he do something wrong?

A kiss to his temple was enough to make him look up to Jack's pained face. "Start moving, cupcake. The pain is almost gone." That was all the coaxing Rhys got. Nodding slowly, he began to pump himself in and out of Jack slowly; almost snails paced as he fought his urge to cum. Jack growled and locked his legs around Rhys' hips, turning them over so that the omega was on top and looking down at the alpha with a smug yet feral grin.

"Too slow, kiddo." He gloated and sat up. Although Rhys could see a light bit of hesitation, it was gone almost instantly as Jack raised himself before slamming himself back down, clenching his eyes and hissing, still not yet fully adjusted to Rhys inside him. His walls throbbed around the alpha with both pleasure and pain. He almost wanted to stop as he raised himself up again before slamming himself back down only to gasp loudly and see stars as pleasure burst through his body. Throwing his head back with a moan, he almost missed Rhys crying out with his own pleasured cry. Jack felt Rhys' hands reach up and grab at his hips and chuckled when the alpha's nails dug into his hips. He groaned, feeling Rhys' throbbing cock inside him. The alpha wasn't all that big. Not that Jack was complaining. What it lacked in thickness, it made up for in length. Regardless, the omega was full and it made him happy enough.

Placing his hands on Rhys' chest, he began to bounce on the alpha repeatedly, not able to hold back his moans as they mixed with the alpha's own crys of pleasure. The whole room was flooded with moaning, panting, sighing and skin slapping as Jack picked up speed, throwing his head back. He could feel his oncoming orgasm. It was so close and he wanted it so badly.

Yet he was a little thrown out of the rhythm when Rhys suddenly had the omega on his back, practically bending Jack in half as he hovered over him. Rhys wasn't sure where the position he found himself in but he couldn't deny that Jack was loving it. With his ass high in the air with only his toes and hands to keep him balanced on the bed and the omega bent in half under him with only the area they were joined at where they touched, he smiled lovingly down at Jack's face, his hands on either side of the omega's head, he was quick to pound into the older man.

Stars flooded Jack's eyes as he screamed out in his pleasure. Rhys was hitting just the right spot with each thrust. Each pound on his body sent him into ecstasy. Barely able to wrap his legs around the alpha's hips to keep him upright, he reached up to touch the alpha's face, feeling the younger man's mouth open with no sound escaping him. Rhys was in so much pleasure that he couldn't make a single sound. In his bliss, he could feel Jack tighten around him as the omega came with a scream, followed by Rhys who's body froze as he came, deep inside the body below him. Shaking, it wasn't until his knot was in Jack, was he able to move, barely able to keep himself from falling on the omega, he smiled, laying on Jack's body.

The omega was laying there, panting slowly, attempting to catch his breath as he glanced down at Rhys, still in his orgasm high and traced his fingers on the alpha's spine. Heat having faded for the time being, he moved just a little to get comfortable when his eyes widened.

"Holy shit, kid! You're knot is huge!" Jack exclaimed, wincing in slight pain at how bit the knot in him was. 

Rhys sputtered with a blush, his whole face going red. "I-th-thank you?" His lips thinning in confusion, unable to tell if Jack was mocking him or was honestly impressed. Pressing his face in the omega's chest, he hummed sleepily when he felt the omega's nails on his back. "Feels nice."

Jack chuckled, closing his eyes as he rested his head on the pillow on the bed. "I bet it does. It's me after all." Opening an eye, he smirks at Rhys' red face. "Oooooooooh! you mean my nails in your back!" He chuckled again, closing his eyes and feeling Rhys nod slowly on his chest. "Yeah, that does feel good too, I guess.... Sleep now, Kiddo. I'm tired. My heat will get only worse after this."

And nap they did.

When Rhys woke up a couple hours later, his knot had already faded. Untangling himself from Jack, he pulled out of the omega and reached down, pulling the condom off. Feeling how.... light.... it was, He lifted it up and gulped.

The condom had broke.....

The condom had broke...... inside Jack..... when he came....

Looking back between the sleeping omega and the condom, he paled. Dropping it on the floor, he runs his fingers through his hair and pulls, biting his lip to keep from uttering a sound and so not to wake up Jack.

"Not good, not good." He groaned under his breath, tossing the condom in the trash bin before sitting up, remembering from his health class in high school. Male omegas were a little harder to impregnate than female. It would normally take multiple tries for it to happen. Maybe Jack wouldn't get pregnant.... Repeating that though in his head, he relaxes. He'd need to tell the omega once the heat was over. Smiling at Jack's sleeping form, he picked up the stuffed dragon from the floor that had been pushed away when the omega's heat started, he pushed it to Jack, seeing the man unconsciously grabbing it to hold tightly in his arms, giving a hum in his sleep.

With a tired hum, Rhys climbed back over to Jack and held the sleeping man close to him before closing his eyes to sleep.

\---

The rest of the heat hadn't gone as smoothly. 

Jack's mind eventually had to be clouded by his heat after his third day. The man was frightened of everything and would only calm down when he had some sort of contact with the alpha. It wasn't until after he got Jack to sleep after two rounds of fucking did he managed to get on his computer and look up about omega's heats. It should have reassured him that the paranoia was only to unbonded omegas. But it didn't. Jack's skittishness made it hard to get him to drink water that was given to him and even harder to get the older man to bathe.

Rhys had ended up bathing with the omega in order to get him clean from sweat and cum. Occasionally rubbing the bonding gland to get the man to calm down after eating. All in all, despite the constant sex, in which Rhys had been much more careful since his first condom breaking and ended up looking up why the condom broke in the first place due to there not being a space on the tip for the cum, he rather have Jack be normal.

The alpha missed the omega when he was normal. Sure Jack was snarky at times and tended to make fun of Rhys, but Jack was fun. He was funny also; occasionally saying or doing something that had Rhys busting a guy laughing.

When the last day of Jack's week long heat, he smiled, seeing Jack sitting up with a dazed but conscious look on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I am very tired. Sorry if it's sloppy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are made, important information is forgotten.

"Rhys!! Oh god! Rhys!! AHHH!!!!" Throwing his head back, Jack came, stiffening where he was, straddled on top of the alpha after riding Rhys for the second time that day. Arching with a yell, Rhys cums into the condom, his member softening inside the omega as his knot swells to keep them connected as Jack lays over on Rhys, panting. Releasing his own deep breaths of air, Rhys raises a hand to tiredly play with the older man's hair as he closes his eyes as he rides out the aftermath of his orgasm with a grin. Jack was warm on top of him and the alpha couldn't help but let out a satisfied purr as the hand that was once playing with Jack's hair, went down to rub the omega's back, earning a content groan from the man on top of him.

Despite this being the last day of the omega's heat, the older man had all but demanded sex the second he could once again think. Not that Rhys had minded. Sex with Jack had been amazing even though he had only ever did it with the omega. Throughout their time, Jack seemed to favor riding the alpha, having found it very pleasing to be the one on top and in control of everything and Rhys was all too willing to let the omega take control. The alpha, honestly hated being the one who made all the choices and decisions for everything. Having another person to take control was a much needed pleasure for Rhys.

Frowning with his brows furrowing, Rhys couldn't help but feel a nagging in the back of his head like he had forgotten something. He could vaguely remember that there was something he was supposed to tell the omega. Something life changing. Shrugging he sighed, not wanting to ruin the moment with the thought. Instead he opened his eyes and bit his lip shyly.

"Hey, Jack?" He asked, eyeing the brown hair that his fingers got tangled in. Jack grunted, raising a brow but made no move to open his eyes; content with keeping his ear on Rhys' chest to listen to his heart beat. Rhys cleared his throat weakly and sat up a little, dragging Jack with him, making the omega give out a tiny growl in protest. "What are we? A-are we dating or.... are we just.. fuck buddies?"

Jack snorted humorously before finally raising his head to stare at Rhys with a lopsided head tilt and a raised brow as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "I thought we were dating, pumpkin." He stated, sitting up in Rhys' lap; his back letting out a couple pops with his actions. "Ol' Jack-a-boy here doesn't do things half mast-no pun intended." Then the omega gazed down at Rhys as if he was a moron before his eyes squinted and gleamed dangerously. "Or was this all a game to you? Because if so-"

"No, no, no." Rhys quickly broke in, running his hands up and down the omega's sides reassuringly, smiling at the confirmation. "I like that we're dating. It's just that..." He gave a shaky, nervous laugh. "You never mentioned what we were. I was starting to think you didn't actually want me for anything other than sex."

Jack rolled his eyes; a habit that the omega was starting to form when it came to the alpha he was still connected to. "Rhysie, Rhysie, Rhysie." The omega groaned, shaking his head as if he had been smacked in the face. "You're killing me here, kiddo." Jack slapped Rhys on the chest as he said that; the sound echoed in the room. Rhys winced at the sting and rubbed the area, knowing that he would have a hand shaped bruise there later. Ignoring the pained look the alpha gave him, the omega continued. "If I had wanted JUST sex, I could have gone to any old alpha and get all the bullshit about bonding over and done with." Snorting, Jack shook his head but more amused than anything.

The alpha felt his brows furrow and his cheeks heat up. His lips tightening, Rhys couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "O-oh..." Not once had he thought about it that way. Then again he hadn't been thinking of many things lately. More focused on getting Jack through his heat while keeping him fed and hydrated as well as clean, Rhys had no time to think, only act. 

The omega was watching him now, looking thoroughly amused at the sudden realization that had dawned on the alpha's face when he had explained this to the younger man. "Yeah. 'Oh.'" The omega agreed before laying back down on the alpha, letting out a yawn. "Was there a reason for asking, cupcake?" Jack asked, closing his eyes as he made an attempt to get comfortable again on the tall alpha, inhaling his scent in the process.

"Actually... yeah." Rhys admitted, rolling them on their sides, making Jack open his eyes, looking very irritated that the alpha wouldn't let him go back to sleep. "Before you called me, I was with a couple friends of mine-"

"Oh joy." Jack interrupted sarcastically.

"-And one of them, Fiona, mentioned you. And I thought-" Rhys raised a hand to nervously scratch the back of his head before lowering the limb to the omega's hip and pulling the man closer to him, pouting a bit. "-That I could introduce you to them? If that was.... alright with you?"

"You mean I have a choice?" the omega questioned dryly, eyes drooped as if he hadn't believed the alpha was asking him instead of demanding the omega. Hooking his leg around the alpha's hips and getting the other one tangled in Rhys' legs, he watched as Rhys turned red again and sputter softly.

"W-well, yeah." Rhy stated quietly. "I wouldn't... I mean to say. I won't force you to. It's just that they're curious and would like to meet you." He bit his lip again, growing more and more nervous under Jack's piercing gaze. "Thought it would be nice and you'd be more comfortable hanging out with them all... maybe?"

Jack was silent for a few seconds, scanning Rhys' face as if to search for a trick. "Will there be many alphas?"

"Er... The only alphas would be me, Vaughn, Yvette, and Sasha..." Rhys then muttered dryly to himself. "Although Yvette is always working and rarely has time to hang out with us anymore." the alpha raises his hand to stroke his fingers in Jack's brown locks before letting his hand rest on the omega's cheek, inwardly smiling when Jack seemed to relax at his touch. "And I trust them. They won't do anything. And if they do, they'll have me to answer to....." Then he smiled, biting his cheek. "Although I have no doubt you'd be able to handle yourself."

"Damn right, Sweet cheeks!" Jack growled in response but the smile gave away his good mood. "I suppose I could stand a few minutes and meet my alpha's friends for a bit. Could be nice for a change." Rhys gave a shiver at the words _'my alpha'_ The idea of him actually being someone's alpha gave him a strong since of pride and he couldn't help but puff his chest out proudly, making Jack snort and pat his head. "Down boy. I still haven't met them."

Laughing, the alpha pulls Jack close and snuggles him, barely hearing Jack calling him a sap before pressing his face in the omega's hair and scenting him. Although, still unbound, Jack held his scent strongly. That was a good sign and often proved an astounding comparability between the two. Giving a hum, the omega manages to free himself from Rhys' loving arms to pull the alpha's head in for a kiss.

The kiss was soft and tender yet cautious at the same time. Jack was hesitant, that much was clear. There was much about the older man that Rhys didn't completely understand. At times it was like dancing around glass shards with the man and other times they just flowed like water. Like old friends that hadn't seen each other in years. And on rare occasions, it was both. If the alpha hadn't known any better, he would have thought that Jack had been hurt before, and he probably had been, and was not all that willing to get close to any alpha at the time.

At the same time, Rhys understood that. Having grown up in a household with more alphas than anyone could imagine in a family unit, Rhys saw first hand what omegas had to deal with and didn't waste time to return the kiss with his own reassurance tang to it, rubbing the back of the omega's head with his flesh hand and his metal hand, now warmed from their bodies, to rub up and down his back. The kiss didn't last long and it was Rhys who pulled away this time, taking the moment to rub his thumb on Jack's cheekbone.

"You have any friends? You know, that I need to be introduced to?" the alpha asked, pulling out of Jack now that his knot had finally deflated enough for him to do so. The omega winced when Rhys pulled out but moved to roll on his back and relaxed in the bed.

Frowning, Jack gave a snort. "Not really. I mean other than that creepy Nakapoojamia who constantly sniffs around me, then I have no one you need to associate with." Then he closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he relaxed fully.

Raising his brows in surprise, Rhys sat up, looking down at Jack in both surprise and horror. "Nakayama?! Wasn't he found dead in a lake a year ago?"

Surprisingly, Jack laughed at hearing that, sitting up, the omega almost hit his head against Rhys' head, still laughing. "That rumor's still going around? Oh god." shaking his head, the omega brought a leg up, leaning on his arm. "No, pumpkin. The bastard didn't die. The rumor started when he fell off his boat and hit his head on some rocks. The guy is very much alive...." Then he turned his head and muttered "Unfortunately." Sighing, the omega looks back at Rhys. "No, he's always sniffing around me, giving me flowers and sending me creepy cards while watching me from afar." Then he smirked. "And the day you came in to apologize, was shortly after I got a note from him, asking me to meet him somewhere the day and time we went on our date."

Rhys' nose wrinkled at that information, getting a bitter taste in his mouth. "So you used me to get away from him."

"Pretty much, cupcake."

"So us getting together was an accident?" The alpha inquired, not able to shake that slight bitterness from his mouth. Had he been a fool in thinking a date with Jack had been purely luck?

"In a way." The omega nodded, laying back down. "I hadn't planned for you to be so.... _Nice._ Pleasant even. You actually had no problem with me taking control...." He looked up at Rhys. "It was...... Nice... Thought I'd give you a shot. See how things went from there."

Like that, the bitterness Rhys had felt seemed to fade away and pride slowly began to replace it. Smiling weakly down at Jack, he took the omega's hand. "So in other words, you started to like me."

Sighing, the omega gave another eye roll. "Yes, you dimwit. I began to like you. Still like you. Keep it up and I might even do more than just LIKE you." then he gave a wink to Rhys. "So now then. Tell me about these friends."

\---

Hopping out of the shower, Rhys quickly dried himself with a nearby towel and dressed for the day. He couldn't help himself but smile when he left the bathroom. His apartment room, despite him and Jack cleaning everything, still held to the strong scent of sex and Jack even after a thorough cleaning and an hour after everything. Turning, he was surprised with a kiss on the lips by said omega, who wore nothing but a long yellow Hyperion t-shirt that stopped just above his knees (a gift Rhys had gotten from his father Wilhelm who worked at the company as security years ago). Cup of coffee sat in the man's hand, filling the area with it's strong fragrance.

Kissing back, the alpha reached out, going to take the coffee when a wicked gleam shun in the omega's eyes and Jack pulled away, taking the coffee with him as he sipped it while walking back to the kitchen.

"No, no, kitten. This is mine. Daddy's earned this." Jack chided as he drank the black liquid. Rhys gave a snort at Jack's referral on being called "daddy" but gave no comment as he followed the omega, licking his lips and tasting the man on them.

Turns out that Jack was a horrible cook and had resorted to putting frozen waffles in the toaster for their breakfast. They were pretty decent and Rhys ate them without complaint, pouring them with chocolate syrup and earning a grossed out look from Jack.

"What?" He asked, setting the syrup down and grabbing his fork to cut a piece of waffle off.

Shaking his head, Jack groaned as he dug into his own waffles that were covered in maple syrup. "That's just gross, kiddo." then he bit into the piece he had torn off his own waffles.

The alpha made a face, scrunching his nose. "How is it gross? I thought you liked chocolate."

"I do. But not on my waffles, Rhysie."

"Hey, they're delicious." the alpha said a matter of factly, sticking his tongue out, smearing chocolate on his face and earning a humored chuckled from the omega who leaned forward and licked the chocolate from the younger man's face, making Rhys gulp in surprise.

"Mmmmm...." Jack moaned dramatically, placing a finger under Rhys' chin and lifting it to smirk darkly at the surprised alpha. "Delicious, kitten. Chocolate covered Rhys is something I am willing to try." Satisfied at the blush covering the alpha's face, Jack pulled away to continue his breakfast as Rhys quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe his face as well as cover his blush.

The rest of their breakfast was continued in silence.

Once all the dishes had been washed, and Jack fully clothed, Rhys reluctantly pulled on a dark purple hoodie and sweat pants. "What do you have planned today?" He asked, zipping up his pants before looking over to where Jack sat on the couch, tying his shoes.

"Well... I have to work today. Job only lets me have a week when I have a heat." Jack replied, going to his other shoe, sliding it on and tying the laces. "Which means that I will have to go home and get into my work outfit then fight to get my bike out of the shed, which will be fun." the omega snorted dryly before standing. "Then I suppose drag my laundry to the laundry mat before we meet your friends."

Letting out a breath, he grabbed the omega's coat and carried it to Jack, handing it to him worriedly. "Would you like me to drive you? You can use my washer and dryer here if you want. I don't want my.... boyfriend to walk. You're town didn't exactly look safe." Rhys offered as Jack took his jacket and slid it on.

Zipping up his jacket, Jack smirked. "You have no idea Rhys. But since you're offering, then yeah. I'll accept. Better here than that shitty, roach filled laundry mat any day. And I welcome a ride." Then his smile softens. "Thanks, Rhys."

\---

"What time do you get off so I can pick you up?" Rhys asked, pulling up to the side of the building and putting the car in park, glancing over at Jack and see him checking his vest over for the supplies he needed. It was sunnier than the alpha had expected and there were more people than he thought there'd be today. He was was tempted to hand Jack his sunglasses to keep his scent on the man as well as block the sun from his eyes.

"Ah, I get off at six. That should give us enough time to see your friends, right?" Jack replied, done fiddling with his vest to glance over at the alpha beside him. Rhys nodded. The time he and the others planned to meet was at six thirty which gave them plenty of time to get to the restaurant once Jack got out. The only problem was, it didn't give the omega any time to change clothes so the older man would have to go inside in his work clothes, which wasn't a problem really. "Good," The omega, hummed and was about to climb out before he felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced over at the alpha. "What? Miss me already?"

Rhys felt the blush on his cheek before he had realized he had grabbed at the man. Pulling his hand away, he stammered out an apology, stopping when he saw the soft understanding look on the omega's face.

"I know, kiddo. I'll miss you too, ya sap." Then the omega leaned over to him, planting a kiss on the alpha's lips before pulling away and climbing out of the car. "I will see you at six." He called out to Rhys before heading inside the store to get ready for work.

\---

Six had felt like forever to the alpha. All the while, it was hard for him to focus and concentrate on anything without his mind flooding worriedly to the omega who he had dropped off only forty-five minutes ago. Doing what he could to keep his mind off it, Rhys cleaned his dishes, took out the trash, played video games with Vaughn (when the smaller alpha came home), and even went to clean the rest of the house. While amused, Vaughn voiced how worried he was about Rhys, knowing all too well that the taller alpha hated cleaning and any other work that didn't involve programming or building.

It was a big relief to Rhys when the time came to get Jack from work. It felt like that ten minute drive took hours when he finally got in, even taking a chance to speed a little just to get to the omega.

Jack, while tired and frustraighted, was all too relieved when Rhys finally got there and quickly climbed in with a smirk.

"Welp, Kitten. I'm hungry. Let's go see your pals."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch with friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I wanted to add more but I need to brainstorm. Otherwise this would be longer. Hahahaha. I do plan to make these longer and later chapters, I plan to explain more on omegas, alphas, and betas when it comes to birth defects. I hope you enjoy this.
> 
> Also I was tired when I wrote this so sorry if it's choppy.

Rhy suppose he should have known better than to let Yvette pick the restaurant that they'd all meet up at. The woman had the most amazing knack of being able to pick out the most expensive place that didn't require a fancy suit or etiquette. She always knew how to burn a hole in Rhys' pocket better than he himself did. Groaning, he rubs his eyes after parking in front of the building. Jack, who sat calmly in the passenger seat, had glanced out the window and gave a long whistle at the sight of the building.

"Damn, pumpkin. I know that we're trying to impress your friends, but isn't this a bit much?" Jack mused with a smirk, glancing over his shoulder at Rhys casually before chuckling at the tired look he got in return. 

"We're not here to _impress_ them. We're here so you can meet them." Rhys griped airly as he sighed and climbed out of the car, ignoring Jack's laughing and stepped around the car to the other side, opening the passengers side, vaguely hearing the omega poke fun at him with the words "Such a gentleman, Kiddo." Before the older man climbed out. The alpha ignored the teasing and shit the door when the omega was out. Locking the car without a word, he stuffed his keys in his pocket and held an arm to Jack. The omega smirked and pushed Rhys' arm away, wrapping his own arm around the alpha possessively, making the alpha blink at the action with a blush. For the omega to be the one leading the alpha was a deviant thing. It just didn't happen normally yet it felt nice. Smiling, Rhys allowed it with a playful shake of his head. "Come on. Before they think we ditched them."

Jack only smirked down at him with a playful gleam in his eye. "I'm following you, Rhys. Lead the way."

"Alright, your highness. I'm going." Joked the alpha, walking to the door and pushing it open, happy at how easy it was for the omega to keep up his quick pace.

"That's HANDSOME highness to you peasant." Jack returned the joke, his smirk widening to show his white teeth. Rhys gave a soft laugh, looking around to see if his friends were at any nearby tables. He had to give Yvette credit. This place was nice with their warm white lights and red carpet like they were in a palace. People were dressed nicely and chatting away with people they had with them at their tables. All the same, the alpha couldn't help but notice that they had gained a few looks since they stepped inside the place. Curiosity, disgust, wonder, and even boredom were all very visible on the people; a feeling he knew Jack was all too familiar with, if the omega stiffening was anything to go by.

With a pat to his mate's arm, Rhys gave another look around, scanning the crowed of the restaurant; the group was nowhere to be found. With an annoyed groan, the alpha lead them to the podium where a waiter stood, looking bored out of his mind. The man didn't look anymore pleased once Rhys and Jack had stepped up to him but the waiter held his position, clearing his throat.

"May I help you?" He asked with a slight sneer, looking Jack up and down, only to look slightly surprised a moment later. Although Rhys found that odd, he decided to question that later.

In the end, they had managed to get the waiter to take them all the way in the back in the special seats where the rest of the group sat, chatting and looking bored. The table was big to accommodate everyone where two seats sat empty across from Fiona and Vaughn which were obviously reserved for the last two.

"Hey! Muscles!" Jack had yelled out with a grin at seeing them, holding his arms open as if he were a celebrity. Vaughn was startled at the sudden yell and looked up to see Jack and he gave a defeated sigh.

"Hello, Jack." The small alpha greeted kindly, having gotten used to the omega and his strange nicknames over the past few times briefly meeting the man. Ignoring the odd looks he got from the other members of the table, he smiled and nodded a greeting to Rhys with a look that begged the taller alpha to save him from the attention. Said alpha could only bite his lip in humor as his omega practically pushed them to the table.

The group consisted of Vaughn, Fiona, Scooter, LB (who was the shy one of the group. Choosing to wear a hoodie that covered his head and most of his face where blonde hair poked from the top.), Gortys (LB's girlfriend who wore a hoodie similar to LB's only pink and you could see her face), Yvette, August, and Sasha. Rhys had to make multiple takes when he first spotted his Ex, looking more confused than anything.

"I hadn't expected you here. Thought you were done with me." He quipped nervously, scratching the back of his head and ignoring Fiona's glare. Sasha on the other hand, just smirked as August beside her, bared his teeth. Despite being a beta, the man made the alpha uncomfortable.

"I had to see the poor omega who would be dumb enough to agree going out with you." She joked, leaning on the table, crossing her legs where she sat as Rhys shyly pulled his and Jack's chairs out from the table so they could climb in. As he did this, Sasha continued. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting them to be a man. Do you always attract the gay men, Rhys?"

Fiona turned to her sister sharply and had just opened her mouth to reprimand her when Jack gave a chuckle and sat down. "You mispronounced genius pretty bad there, sweetheart." He gave a wink, making August growl territoriality. Jack's unimpressed smirk at the beta made him growl more before the omega turned to Sasha once more. "Besides, I'm bi. Not gay. Get your facts straight."

"Ignoring that my sister made a complete ass of herself." Fiona broke in with a tense smile on her face to show her disapproval, making Sasha snicker in her hand. "We took the liberty of ordering for you both since you guys took too long to get here."

Rhys felt his brows go to his hairline. "Took too long? We got here on time!" the alpha exclaimed, his hands grabbing at his pants legs.

Yvette was the one to break in the conversation this time. "Yeah, but we were hungry. So we ordered." The strict alpha eyed Jack, who looked at her, uninterested but highly amused. "I hope you like quinoa, omega. We weren't sure what your taste was so we guessed."

The omega in question smirked, brushing off the fact that she hadn't used her name, despite knowing it from Rhys and Vaughn telling her multiple times, he placed his palms on the table. "I fucking love it." Then in a much quieter tone, Jack leaned to Rhys' ear and whispered: "I don't fucking know what that is." which made Rhys snort, doing his best not to chuckle.

Quickly coughing in his hand, Rhys managed to gain everyone's attention. "So." He cleared his throat to remove the shaky squeak in his voice. "You guys. This is.... Jack.... Uhh..." Biting his lip, he inwardly screamed. He didn't know his mate's last name.

"Lawrence. Jack Lawrence, Kitten." The omega supplied, winking over at the alpha who floundered before giving a two finger salute to everyone. "Hey." His greeting appeared to amuse the people at the table except for LB who remained emotionless the entire time. Gortys bounced in her seat and waved. "Hi!! It's so nice to meet you!" She chirped happily with a big smile, earning an agreeing nod from LB. "My name's Gortys and this is LB." She pointed to her boyfriend beside her. He nodded once more. "He doesn't talk much."

"Hey Chirpy."

"But I just said my name was Gortys."

"He gives everyone nicknames, Gortys." Rhys supplied, already feeling tired before the night actually began. "It's kind of his thing. It means he liked you."

"Ooooooooh." She breathed in realization. "Well I like you too!"

The omega looked over at his mate, amused. "She's adorable." The older man whispered, causing Rhys to give him a tired smile. Across the table, Scooter began to nod off to sleep, earning an elbow jab to his ribs, making him give a comical yelp and rub the area. Seeing he was being watched, he grinned and donned a pose. "Names Scooter! Engineer and owner of catch-a-ride! Ya have any cars need fixin' I'll take 'em!"

"And I'm Fiona, Scooter's wife." the female beta broke in, poking her husband in the head, almost making him lose his hat. "Don't mind him if he starts to ramble." She stated with a soft laugh, earning a gently poke from Scooter. "Be nice. Think of lil' Fi. Or Scrapper if it's a boy." Fiona rolled her eyes before continuing. "That over there-" She pointed to Sasha and August with her thumb. "Is my sister Sasha and her boyfriend, August."

"August huh?" Hummed Jack, thoughtfully eyeing the beta, making the man growl. August looked ready to leap over the table and strangle them if they said the wrong word but remained seated.

"Yeah, what of it?" The beta bit out, obviously annoyed as he bared his teeth.

"Nothing." Smirked the omega, happy at getting that reaction. "Just wondering if you had a little sister named September."

"Why you little-" The beta went to jump on the table but was pulled down in his seat by Sasha who only growled in warning, showing the beta her alpha dominance with a hand to his neck. He reluctantly averted his eyes submissively and stayed put. Glaring at Jack, she hissed. "Not cool, Jack."

The older man smirked, his eyes roaming her face, just supplied. "What? I actually know someone named September.... poor girl." Looking to his left, he saw Rhys place his face in his hands, resting his elbows on the table.

"Well, you already know me and Yvette. So-" Vaughn was cut off by Jack when the omega, kicked his leg hard but playfully, making the small alpha bite his tongue to keep from yelping in pain; casually rubbing his knee where he was kicked.

"Of course I know you guys. Rhysie here never shuts up about you both."

Said alpha looks up at Jack quickly, looking just as shocked as Vaughn. "I don't talk about them."

The omega rolled his eyes dramatically. "Yes you do, pumpkin. I need to get a recorder. I swear you mention them ten times when we talk on our dates."

Rhys was saved from having to retort by their meals arriving. It had taken about three or four waitresses to bring their meals and place the food in front of them. Looking at his food the tall alpha couldn't help but smile. Yvette knew just what to order for him which was roast beef, mashed potatoes and dark gravy. Taking a bite of his food, he moaned quietly at the taste as everyone else began to dig in. Jack, when his food was put in front of him and let out a groan and burped a little in his fist, suddenly looking green and sick, making Rhys look over at him with concern.

"Jack?" he asked softly, watching the omega as color drained from his face as his shoulders squaring tensely. He grew alarmed when Jack gagged and stood, running off to the bathroom. "Jack!" Rhys exclaimed, standing and chasing after his mate to the nearby bathroom, leaving behind his confused group. Luckily for them both, the mens bathroom was pristine and empty of anyone else other than Jack, who Rhys found, was laying on his hands and knees on the floor and puking in a toilet; his body convulsing with each heave. Bending down beside his mate the best he could, he rubbed the omega's back as he emptied his stomach into the toilet, occasionally hearing a groan from the man. Eventually, after all the puking and dry heaving, Jack was well enough to sit up and lean in Rhys' arms, his body clammy and covered in sweat.

"Maybe I should take you to a doctor..." The alpha suggested worriedly, running his fingers in Jack's hair, hearing a weak hum from the man. 

The omega shook his head in response and pulled away from the alpha. "No kiddo. I'm okay now." Then he reached over, flushing the toilet and standing to go wash his hands in the sinks. Rhys kept his eyes on the omega, following him and keeping close to him. "This isn't okay." The alpha argued weakly. "What if you're really sick?" His concern earned a small smile on the omega's face as Jack turned to pull Rhys to him.

"I'll be fine, Rhysie." He assured with a pat to the butt, making the alpha squeak. "It was one time. I'm fine now. AND I am hungry for.... whatever the shit that was that was ordered for me."

Rhys chuckled, cheeks red from the slap. "It's called a mixed vegetable quinoa." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Whatever it is, I need it. I feel like I'm starving now.

\---

When they got back to the table, no one mentioned the incident. While they occasionally sent suspicious glances their way, everyone else was more focused on their meals.....Except Jack. The omega had gotten half way into his food before he decided that he hated his quinoa and had resorted to flicking his peas at Vaughn, who ended up begging Rhys to make him stop.

Giving in, Rhys had ended up ordering another, more appetizing looking meal for the omega. A pasta dish with tomato sauce in which the alpha forgot the name to. That meal was good enough for Jack to eat without complaint. While the omega had picked at it every so often, looking a bit cautious of eating it in fear of getting sick again, the older man ended up eating it all up.

In the end, the night continued on since the awkward encounter. It wasn't long before the cautious chat did it dissolve into playful and friendly banter, Jack howling in laughter at multiple taunts and teasing made at Rhys' expense. Luckily, Vaughn hadn't shared anything about Rhys helping Jack with his heat, which was a huge relief for both him and the omega. However that thought brought a nagging thought in the back of his head. The constant buzz that he had forgotten something but he couldn't quite remember what it was. Lost in his head, attempting to figure out what he had forgotten, his thoughts were interrupted at one point when Jack had exclaimed loudly "Seriously?! Am I the only omega here?!"

Laughing, Rhys had found himself getting sucked in the chatter. It was fun to be around his friends again and he was just relaxing when there was a sharp gasp. Following that gasp, Jack sighed, closing his eyes, looking completely defeated as he whispered "Oh no." Under his breath, everyone looked back to see a balding man with a comb over and a bushy beard, standing behind Jack with wide eyes, staring at the omega with adoration.

"J-Jack! What a pleasant surprise to see you here!" The quirky alpha's eyes scanned the group Jack was with before landing back on the omega as he practically hopped on his feet. The older man groaned dramatically before squinting his eyes.

"What do you wan, Namataka?" Jack growled, his hands gripping his chair arms tightly. The new alpha gave only a giggle as he clinched his fists together in front of him.

"I-It's Namayaka actually." Namayaka corrected, fixing his glasses. "A-and I was just here for a business meeting when I saw you." The man glared, catching Rhys' scent on Jack and he eyed the other alpha with a sneer. "With him." Rhys growled under his breath, fists clenching. He didn't like this other alpha being so close to his omega.

Eyes growing as if he was struck with an idea, Jack leaned on Rhys, surprising the tall alpha while making Namayaka look surprised and enraged all in one. "Of course I'm with him. Meet my boyfriend, Namakoosha."

"B-boyfriend?!" Namayaka growled loudly before taking a deep breath and running a hand over his bald head to force a smile on his face. "Y-yes of course. A man such as you couldn't possibly be single."

"Yep." Bleated the omega, inwardly praising himself. "Now if you don't mind-" He waved the other alpha off. "I'd like to be with Rhys and friends. without-ya know- you here."

The alpha seemed to get the hint and stiffened, forcing a tighter smile. "O-of course. Of course. I have a meeting anyway." He gave another giggle. "I will see you at work then." Then the alpha leaned forward, inhaling deeply, letting out an unhappy noise when he smelled the strange mixture in Jack's scent before leaving.

Once Namayaka was gone, Rhys and the others visibly relaxed and the alpha looked at Jack sharply. "You work with him?!"

The omega gave a grossed out groan. "Unfortunately. He's one of the pharmacists in the back. He passes by me every day. Probably to ogle me."

"I don't like him."

"Join the club, kiddo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gives virtual stickers to everyone who calls it*


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I forgot to mention. Thank you all for the birthday wishes. They made me so happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! Chapter's here!!

"Oh fuck..." Jack groaned, puking in the toilet. With his face shoved in the seat of the porcelain bowl, he let out a cough before another round of bile escaped him. He had just managed to get the attention of his boss long enough for the man to send someone to relieve him so he could run to the bathroom. How many times had he puked since the day he was at lunch with Rhys' friends? Five? Shaking his head, he groaned. 

No. He was fine. Whatever illness he had caught, it would pass. The door to the bathroom opened and the soft steps of footsteps were the only warning before a hand was placed on his back and the omega relaxed with a sigh. Rhys. His boyfriend must have come to see him today.... Wait... Stiffening, Jack's lips thinned. He had looked at his lovers schedule earlier before he left for work. Rhys was working right now. Then who was....?

"Despicable, that alpha. If you were mine, then I'd never leave your side."

Fuck. Namayaka. Letting out a growl, Jack couldn't stop himself from heaving into the toilet again, shaking. Not noticing the omega's discomfort, the bald alpha rubbed the omega's back and continued talking.

"I mean. An omega in your condition shouldn't be alone..." The alpha looked at the back of Jack's neck where his bonding gland remained unbroken. "And bound. I could bond us, help with the sickness."

Spitting in the toilet, Jack let out another groan, his stomach hurting from puking so much. "What the fuck are you going on about? Condition?"

Namayaka's eyes lit up happily and the hand wrapped around Jack to rest on his stomach. "YOUR condition! Having a baby is hard on an unbound Omega. I could bond with you. Make it easier on you."

Slapping the alpha's hands off him, Jack wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand before standing back up on wobbly legs to glare at the bald man. "Fuck off, Namakookoo! I'm not pregnant, you asswipe." He growled before pushing past the man and had just turned on the sink when the alpha spoke up again, eagerly twitching behind the omega. In the mirror, Jack could see the Alpha hovering nearby him, grinning wildly in excitement.

"Oh Bit you are! I smell it. I'm a pharmacist! Pregnant omega's get their medicine from me all the time! I'd know that smell anywhere! But how far are you? Let me guess!" Leaning forward, Namayaka took a deep breath, uncomfortably close to Jack, making the omega growl and pull back to give himself space between the two, the sink still running and the alpha casually reached over to turn the tap off. "I'd say a week! If not two!"

A week? Jack paled. A week ago, he had been in heat......

......In heat with Rhys......

Turning, he bolted out of the bathroom, ignoring the calls of the alpha to come back. His boss saw him when he bolted out and all but demanded Jack to take the rest of the day off. The man must have seen or known that the omega was getting sick multiple times that day, not like it mattered. The forced leave was a relief and Jack gave in without complaint, which surprised his boss at his compliance, having prepared himself a speech for the omega if he complained or made a scene.

The first thing Jack did when he was off the clock was buy a box of pregnancy tests, which earned him a few looks from his coworkers who were astonished that Jack had possibly gotten knocked up. Luckily a glare from the omega was enough for them to keep their mouths shut, having had to experience his violent tendecies.

\---

Pregnant....

That's what the test had said when he picked it up after five minutes. His head was still reeling at the news as he sat on the floor of his broken, run down home. He had told Rhys to use a condom, hadn't he? Jack was sure he did. And now, because his lover was an idiot, they were stuck with a child. Abortion was out of the option because if would literally kill the omega, due to their genetics. An omega's body had enough trouble dealing with the loss of a baby from natural causes on a regular basis. Then there was adoption. Would Rhys even want to give the child up?

Growling he held his head in his hand. He was going to kill that stupid alpha. He was going to strangle him until he turned blue and stopped moving. He was....

....he was.....

He was screwed is what he was. Jack had gotten attached to the stupid alpha and couldn't see himself killing him like he had with so many who had even TRIED to claim him. Stupid kid. He just HAD to get attached to one of the weakest alphas out there and let his guard down enough for the man to impregnate him.

Jack gave a dry chuckle and grinned. Did this mean the kid was off the hook? Nope. the omega was going to make sure the alpha knew how pissed off he was. And what was the best way to do that, that didn't involve torture or death?

Blue balls were a bitch.

Rhys had a taste of sex and he was going to have to learn to live without. Once you had it, you can't stop wanting it. Not to say that, that was all Jack was going to do. He'd find a way to punish his alpha. One way or another. Speaking of alpha, Jack sighed and pulled out his phone to see a text from Rhys.

_[2:30 pm] Rhysie: I'm bored. D:_

_[3:06 pm] Rhysie: Work is boring. -_-'_

_[5:45 pm] Rhysie: I can come over? :D_

Rhys was an idiot. Fighting a smile, the pregnancy test was a cold reminder on why he was pissed off at the alpha. If he remembered right, Rhys should be off work right about now. Glancing at his clock, it was 6:12 right now. Not too much longer since the alpha's last message. Fingers moving on the screen, he replied:

_[6:13 pm] Handsome Jack: Get your ass over here right now._

Turning off his phone, he laid his head back to rest against the wall and closed his eyes. Now for the wait.

\---

"Jack, I'm here." Rhys called, letting himself in the house with the copy of Jack's house key the omega had given him. He had rushed over the second he got the omega's text. Normally when the older man texts him like that would be if he was super pissed, or horny. Rhys hoped it was because the man was horny. The alpha could go for some sex right now. Walking deeper into the house with his coat slung over his shoulder, he turned, glancing in each room as he passed them, stopping when he saw Jack, sitting on the living room couch with his head in his hands. Smiling, the alpha crept closer to the couch, leaning forward to kiss the back of the omega's neck where the bonding gland was, making the omega jump and turn around.

Seeing Rhys, Jack put a hand to his chest and snarled. "Jesus, pumpkin! Don't do that!" The omega growled before standing, rubbing his face as he paced the room, ignoring Rhys' amused grin.

Shrugging, the Alpha gave a soft chuckle. "Sorry, Jack." he apologized, frowning only when he saw the omega's troubled look when he dropped his hands. "Jack?" Rhys stood up and stepped up to the omega, reaching his hands out to rub Jack's shoulders; sending him a concerned gaze. "Jack, what's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, the omega opened his eyes, hands folded together in front of him, making him look like he was praying more than he was, trying to calm himself down. The omega's eyes were heated in anger but his face was blank as he pushed away from Rhys.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeell.... Now that you mention it, Rhysie. A LOT of things are wrong but only one pertains to you right now." Then he held the stick to Rhys, who took it in his metal hand, cautiously with a confused brow raised. "Now tell me what that is."

"It's..... a......" Looking at the bit of plastic in his hand, he flipped it all around. "I.... uh.... Don't-"

"It's a pregnancy test, Rhys." Jack snapped, glaring at the now scared alpha. "I'm sure I don't have to spell that out to you. Now tell me. What does it say on it?"

"P-pregnant?"

"Yes! Good boy!" Chided the omega, stepping in front of the alpha again; the alpha having lost all the color in his face with an expression that screamed "Oh shit!!" on it with eyes wide in realization. "I had told you when my heat started, that we were going to use protection!"

"B-But We did use protection!" Rhys protested, lowering the arm with the test, slightly.

Jack snorted. "Then how did I get pregnant, Rhysie?!" He mocked, holding his arms out to his sides in a "Bow before me" position. "You had ONE job, Rhys! I don't want a baby, Rhys! I can't afford a baby, RHYS!"

The alpha sputtered, shaking a little where he stood. "I swear, I used condoms! And I thought you wanted a baby. Our first date, you said so!"

"Rhys!! How long have we been together?! Two months?! And already I'm knocked up?! When I had said that, I was expecting a year after knowing someone! Not two months..." Breathing heavy, Jack sunk into the couch, putting his head in his hands again. "I can't afford to take care of a baby.. Not alone..."

Gulping, Rhys shook but wasted no time to sit on the couch beside the omega. "You're not alone. I'll help you."

Jack gave a dry laugh. "Yeah. They all say that until the baby comes. Then they're gone. I know how this works, kiddo. I'm not stupid."

Rhys frowned. "I'm serious! It's my kid. There's no way I'm leaving you to raise it by yourself. I love you and I'll love this baby. I'll bond with you if I have to...." The alpha stopped speaking, looking up in surprise at what he had just said before grinning and kneeling in front of Jack as if he were proposing, holding the omega's hand tightly. "Bond with me!"

"E-Excuse me?" For the first time in his entire life, Jack stuttered. "B-bond with you? Are you serious? Just because we have a bun in the oven-"

"No. I.... I want to do it. Kid or no kid...."

"...... You know you don't need an omega's permission to bond him, kiddo."

"But I want your permission. You have a say in this too. I won't force you."

Jack gave a weak smile. "Thanks, kiddo......"

Silence flooded the room. It seemed like an eternity before the omega spoke. "Yes. I will bond with you. Don't make me regret it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some parts are a little rushed. I'm sorry. I am also sorry if the story or chapter is crap.

"You mean it?" Rhys sat there in front of Jack, dumbfounded at the response the omega gave him. Had he heard right? Unable to move Rhys felt his heart flutter and his body begin to shake happily and in anticipation.

Snorting, Jack nodded with a smirk. "Yeah," He stated, giving a casual shrug of his shoulder before leaning back to drape an arm over the back of the couch. "I mean, you're not the worst alpha out there. And if you do break the bond, I will make your life miserable."

The threat wasn't needed. Rhys felt he would gladly spend his whole life with this man. Grinning from ear to ear, he quickly stood and pressed himself against the omega, kissing Jack as he held the man against the couch, closing his eyes as he threw all his passion into the kiss; one that Jack responded with a kiss of his own in return, his own eyes closing as their hands reached forward, grabbing and groping each other. Jack's mouth tasted sour from his vomit which was pitifully covered by toothpaste. But Rhys hadn't minded. Giving a moan, the alpha turned them to push Jack to the couch and climbing on top of the alpha while kissing the man's neck, making the omega gasp and moan when Rhys nipped him.

Only for Rhys to find himself flat on his back on the floor with the omega's foot on his chest. The older man's face was red and lips were swollen as he gave Rhys that dark and cruel smirk the alpha was all too familiar with.

"Oh, no. You're still in trouble Rhysie. Remember?" Rhys whined pitifully as he grabbed at the foot keeping him down as he wiggled under the pressure.

"I'm sorry Jack. Please...." He begged, licking his lips, wanting to taste the man's lips on his again. "The condom broke. I said I was sorry."

Jack raised a brow at the new information and chuckled, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Is THAT how it happened? How amature can you get? Even I knew how to put a condom on and I can't even actually use the damn things."

The alpha's cheeks heated up in embarrassment while frowning in his humiliation; eyes looking everywhere except the omega on the couch.

"I thought it would be simple like just putting it on."

"And where did you think all that cum was going to go if you didn't leave room for it? Dum dum." Jack snorted, bringing a hand to his forehead, looking completely amused and bewildered at the same time.

"Alright. Fair point." Rhys muttered, pushing Jack's foot off his chest and sat up, brushing his shirt off. "At any rate, it's late and we should get to bed."

"WE? I am going to bed. YOU are staying on the couch tonight." Jack stated with a laugh, throwing a couch pillow to the alpha, who caught the pillow in one hands.

"ME?!" Rhys cried, setting the pillow on the floor beside him to lift himself to his feet, taking the pillow with him. "I don't live here. I can just go home and sleep in my own bed." The fake shock on Jack's face gave him pause. "O-or. Um..."

"And leave me all alone in my time of need?" Then Jack turned, head bowed as he held himself and sobbed. "You said you'd take care of me and you threaten to leave me to go to your own bed."

Watching the omega, he could only bite his lip guiltily. He felt horrible as each sob made the alpha's heart ache. Reaching out with one hand, he attempts to turn the omega to him, pulling Jack to him as the omega's face to his chest. The omega looked surprisingly smaller when he's hunched over and sobbing.

Letting out a sigh, he held the omega close, rubbing a hand up and down Jack's back, resting his head on the older man's brown hair. Gently shushing the omega, he rocked them. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry. You're right... I'll stay here for the night."

It wasn't even a second that Rhys had said that, did Jack suddenly stand up straight with the most smug expression on his face before the omega pushes Rhys on the couch, sauntering off to the closet nearby and opens it while lightly swishing his hips. 

"Great!" He exclaims, pulling out a spare blanket and pillow, tossing them to the alpha who ended up getting buried in the blankets with flailing limbs. "You sleep on the couch tonight, pumpkin. Don't mind the squeaks. It's fine."

The only comfort Rhys got during his restless night, was the smell of his mate on the blankets.

\---

It wasn't even morning when Rhys was woken up with Jack straddling his waist, wiggling and grinding on top of the alpha, making Rhys blush at the needy look on the omega's face. Raising his hands up to grab the omega's hips, moaning when he feels Jack move faster with needy gasps for air. "I thought I was in trouble." Rhys quipped, bucking up against Jack, making the omega gasps loudly and let out a shuddering moan.

Leaning over Rhys, Jack grabbed the alpha's face desperately, he kisses the alpha in his need. "Changed my mind, Rhysie." growled the older man before he gave the younger man a lustful kiss, making their teeth clack together, which in turn causes Rhys to wince. "Need you. Need you now. Want to bond."

"N-now?" Rhys squeaked, moaning as he bucks up against the omega, eyes rolling up as he let out a shaky groan. "I-if that's what you want...." rolling them over, the two fall onto the floor; Jack under Rhys with his legs spread with his mate between his legs, gasping and panting as Rhys ruts on him, grinding himself on Jack's clothed, seeping and needy hole. Grabbing Rhys tightly, Jack turned his head to bare his neck to his younger mate, panting while reaching up to pull Rhy's head to his neck, feeling the alpha smirk against his skin.

Unfortunately, Rhys had other things in mind as he forcefully pulled his head away, chuckling at the murderous glare the omega gave him. "Don't worry, Jack. I'll take care of you." He cooed down at Jack, pulling away. "Get on your hands and knees. This will make bonding easier." Then he winks. "Plus I always wanted to try this position."

The glare on the omega's face melted into one of curiosity and a smug smirk covered his face as the man turned on his hands and knees, sending a final look back at Rhys as if to say, "Don't mess up."

Rhys wasted no time to remove their clothes. He also was rough when doing so. The sound of clothes being ripped apart savagely had earned the alpha a loud needy cry from the omega below him as the older man's entire body shook. It was then that the alpha wasted no time to angle himself inside the man under him and mount him, instantly pounding in the omega while nuzzling the bonding gland on the back of Jack's neck, driving his mate crazy with the actions. His mate's scent was wonderful. Opening his mouth, Rhys bit down on the gland, breaking it to send the chemicals through the omega's body, earning a pained whine; lowering his upper half as the alpha softly shushed the omega with a loving coo.

The bite will scar, that is a known fact. But it will forever release Rhys' scent, marking Jack as his. The alpha purred at the thought and picked up speed in which Jack was extremely pleased at the abuse on his body.

Throughout their love making, Rhys could only feel the joy in the back of his brain at the bond.

 

\---

Walking into work the next day, Jack couldn't help but notice all the looks his co-workers were giving him when he entered. For the most part, the omega couldn't tell if they were shocked or surprised when they smelled him. Some even going to far to sniff at the permanent bite mark on the back of his neck where his gland had been recently broken. He had just gotten to his station with his supplies when his boss approaches him with a blush on his face. Jack hadn't even noticed the guy until he cleared his throat, making Jack let out an annoyed groan, turning to face his boss.

"Yes, Vasquez? What do you want now?" He groaned out, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the wall. "Don't tell me I have a complaint already. I just got here." Crossing his arms, Jack tilts his head while sending Vasquez a pissed off look.

His boss, on the other hand, fixed his tie. "Just, Hugo, Jack." He squeaked before clearing his throat, eyeing the omega with a smarmy smirk. "And no. You're not in trouble, this time." He stiffened up with his arms folded behind his back. "Actually I came to congratulate you on your recent bonding. The ceremony must have been..... wonderful."

Jack hummed "It was something, alright." the omega admitted, his mind going back to the night of fucking and love making he and Rhys did the entire night. The memory brought a small smile to his face before he shook his head at remembering where he was and scowled. "What did you want, already?"

Vasquez smirks. "Well, you may not know but all bonded omegas are reassigned to a new position for when their alpha's impregnate them." Then the beta winked at him, pissing Jack off. "And you know it's gonna happen sooner or later. So you're being assigned to.. less taxing work." Vasquez chuckled. "Better pay too."

Rolling his eyes, Jack fights the urge to put his hand on his stomach where his small and unborn child grew in his stomach. The offer was tempting and apparently he had no room to reject it. Better pay than he had now? That was better money than he was currently making. If he remembered correctly, he would be sent in the back to do paper work or assigned to an office setting part of the building. The omega then sighed annoyed and closed his eyes. "So in order for an omega to get anywhere, they have to be pregnant and bonded.... good to know." He opened his eyes to glare at his boss. "Very well, what do I have to do and where do I have to go?"

\---

Turns out, the position he had ended up getting was Vasquez' secretary. And damn it, Jack would be lying if he said he didn't hate the job and he hadn't actually, technically started. The job consisted of him sitting down the entire time with a lot of paperwork, phone calls and the constant smell of his pregnant omegas around him. He was forced to spend his entire time there, getting antiquated with his new co-workers which consisted of pregnant and bound omegas who found out really quickly to stay away from him.

In the end, he eventually got to sit down at his own desk, looking around his cubicle that just screamed for him to decorate it. Leaning back in his chair, Jack kicked his feet on top of the desk and his hands behind his head with a smirk, listening to the silence. Giving a content sigh, he found joy at the lack of people and noise around him. Sadly that silence was broken when his phone went off. Angrily, he picked it up and held it to his ear.

"Yeah?" He answered with a growl.

_"Why the fuck didn't you tell us that you were dating an alpha?!"_

"Hello to you too, dad."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Another chapter. I had a brain storm and poof. Here this chapter is. May be angsty and you guys might get pissed. XD

_"Don't "Hello dad" me! Who is this alpha I keep hearing about?!"_  
"Ah. So you still have Felicity spying on me, then." Jack stated, still leaning back in his new seat; legs propped up with a bored expression on his face. He had expected this. It was only a matter of time when his father found out about Rhys. It was just a surprise on how quickly the man had found out. Tassiter was a resourceful and cruel man, especially to his own son who he shamed and nearly disowned.

_"Of course I am. Did you really expect me to let a disappointment like you wonder around without SOME kind of surveillance?"_

Fighting back a growl, Jack crossed his legs while keeping them on the desk, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand before letting it flop to rest on his stomach. "Oh I don't know," Jack bit out. "You seemed just fine to be letting me be for the most part since you clearly haven't disowned me yet. Why is that, old man?"

There was clear irritation in Tassiter's voice. _"Don't start with me John. You know that you reflect on me. It's bad enough you were born an omega. One would hope you hadn't messed up and got knocked up by some useless, slum alpha."_

"Aww, I didn't know you cared so much." The omega cooed sweetly while mentally cursing his father in his head. "And he's not useless. He works in a company, not that it would matter to you considering that you will never meet him."

_"So it is a HIM is it?"_

"Of course. You didn't think an alpha woman would be able to tame me, did you?" Jack snorted, holding back laughter. "Not that this alpha is taming me either."

 _"I don't need you TAMED I need you compliant."_ He heard his father growl out, no doubt trying to keep himself calm for the sake of Jack's step mother and his own health.

"Oh, big word. I am so scared." Snickered the omega. "Well, charming as this was, pops, I have to get back to work-"

 _"You hold it right there John."_ his father's tome made him pause; finger inches from the hang up button. Tassiter only ever got this silent when he was deathly serious about something to the point he would kill someone. Something he and Timmy learned the hard way when Jack had been abandoned to the mercy of their grandmother. _"I am going to meet this alpha tonight. I will get to know him and if I am not happy with what I find out, you are being shipped to obedience school for training. I will not stand for you making a mockery of this family."_

 _Obedience school. Training._ Those words sounded like nails on a chalk bored to Jack. It made him feel like a dog that was more trouble than it was worth to have around. The omega couldn't help but bare his teeth and bite his tongue to keep from saying something back to his father.

 _"Do I make myself clear, John?"_ Despite Jack's distress, his father had continued with what he was saying and was now waiting for an answer back. This made Jack feel like he was five years old again instead of thirty. Taking a deep breath through his nose, he set his jaw as his lips thinned.

"Yes." He managed to croak out.

_"Yes, what? John?"_

He couldn't fight the quiet growl nor could he hide the bitterness in his tone. "Yes, _SIR._ I understand."

 _"Watch the attitude."_ Tassiter scolded with a growl of his own. _"Your mother and I will see you at ten o'clock sharp. You better be ready."_ Then with a click, the line was dead as Tassiter had hung up, leaving Jack frozen where he sat with the phone to his head.

Stiffly and quietly, Jack lowered his hand and took his feet off the desk, forcing him to sit upright as he stared at the phone in his hands blankly. He had expected this. How could he not? Ever since the day he had been discovered as an omega when he had gone through puberty, his father had been pulling shit just like this to make Jack's life difficult. Well, more difficult. Omegas had it rough and with a family who didn't support omegas (Except for his twin brother Timmy, who tried his best to help Jack), it was damn near impossible to have a peaceful life. He should have known his happiness and seclusion from his father was only temporary. If Rhys didn't impress his father, there was a high chance of his father, not only breaking the bond between him and his alpha lover, but punishment for getting pregnant before a bonding. Not that Jack would willingly let all that happen. Oh no. He'd fight to the death. But would he risk his mate and child's safety? Probably not. Although this had been the second day of knowing about his pregnancy, he had grown attached to it. There was no way he'd let his family go without a fight.

Family. The word actually shocked him out of his stupor. For years, family had been nothing but a burden to him. A painful reminder of who he had to put up with for his entire life. Now he actually had someone he cared about, and one he would call his. _His_ Rhys. The omega couldn't stop the weak smirk. That had a nice ring to it. An alpha to call his own. And not one of _those_ alphas. But one who let him get away with everything. Possibly murder. One who didn't even TRY to punish him for speaking out of turn or making shrewd comments. And alpha who didn't force sex on him and that actually smelled _good._ and not just good-good. Rhys had smelled fucking awesome. Jack wasn't going to give him up. Not for anything. Not even his father.

Setting his phone down to grab his chair, he pulled out a paper to write himself a note to call Rhys during break. He had to get Rhys prepared, and fast.

\---

When Rhys got the call, he was all in a panic. Not because he feared the one thing many men feared when dating someone, meeting the parents. Oh no. This was much worse. A long time ago, Jack had warned the alpha about his father and all the things he'd do. The man had power. So much more power than Rhys ever could ever hope to achieve. While Rhys was secretly next in line for CEO of Atlas (He never mentioned this to Jack, considering he was waiting to see if his sister would step down from CEO) as well as a programmer for Hyperion, Jack's parents were the actual _owners_ of Hyperion. They were his boss' bosses. They could have him killed without so much as batting an eyelash and since they had so much power, the police would just look away.

So that was how Rhys had ended up ironing his best dress suit and hurrying to scramble and reserve a table at the best restaurant he could afford. Dancing around his apartment to get ready, he opened a book on etiquette, knowing full well that was required. Safely bagging his newly pressed dress suit up and hanging it in the closet to put on later, he took out a pen and flash cards to scribble what he was going to practice saying for when he and Jack met his parents. Despite his neat handwriting, he couldn't keep his hand still as he scribbled on the flashcards, one hand propped on the dining room table with his head resting in it as he stared down at the paper with worry. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the oncoming distraction.

 **"RAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!!!"** Vaughn had jumped up from beside Rhys, wearing a latex werewolf mask, making Rhys jump up about five feet in the air and fall over on the floor, throwing his pen in the air while he did so while screaming in soprano. Laughing, Vaughn pulled off his mask and stared down at Rhys on the floor with an amused, yet concerned look.

"Bro, that was the funniest thing I have ever seen you do." The smaller alpha admitted, finally giving into his amusement and laughing. All the while, Rhys was glaring at him as the taller alpha pulled himself back into the seat, looking around the room from where he sat for the pen that he had thrown across the room.

"Hardy, har, har." Rhys mocked dryly patting his chest where his heart beat wildly. "Glad me being scared out of my wits, amuses you. You know that had I died, Jack would have killed you for pulling that little stunt."

"Nah, bro. Knowing you, you'd just come back to have some fun with him the second he got here." Vaughn joked back, setting the mask on the table before taking his own seat and pulling his glasses from his pocket to unfold them and perching them back on his face. "You were really lost in your head there, bro. Thought I'd take advantage."

Rhys snorted, leaning against the table. "Yeah well, I have a lot going on right now that's life and death." Then he glanced at the mask. "What's with the getup anyway? I thought you hated werewolves."

Vaughn sent him a confused look. "Huh?" Then he gave a soft gasp before grinning as he took the mask in realization. "No, bro. I hate werewolf movies. I like werewolves. See? Difference. The movies are too gory for me but the monsters themselves are cool. Besides." He flattened the mask up and lifted it to cover his face. "It's part of my Halloween costume this year." Then he lowered the mask with a grin. "I was planning on being a werewolf construction worker or something. Ya know. Switch it up."

Rhys smiled and shook his head, happy that his heart was starting to slow back to it's normal pace. "No, bro. You seem more like a Werewolf Janitor. Always cleaning up my messes while dealing with the peasants." Then he gave a soft hum. "And Halloween? Isn't that a month away?"

This made Vaughn laugh, setting the mask back on the table. "No, man. Halloween is in twenty-three days. When was the last time you looked at the calendar?" The taller alpha sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Too long, I'll admit." Stated the taller alpha, finally finding his pen on the floor across the room and sighed, not wanting to get up to grab it. The smaller alpha seemed to sense his distress and looked at the flashcards. "What's all this bro?"

"O-Oh... well..." Rhys cleared his throat, nervously shifting where he sat. "You know that Jack and I are together-"

"-And bonded." Vaughn interrupted. At Rhys' abashed look, he snorted. "Bro, I can smell it on you. There's no hiding it at this point." Rhys let out a devastating groan and pressed his face into his hands. "And bonded." The taller alpha admitted. "Well...." Sitting up, the alpha faces his friend once more. "Turns out that his father found out about me and I have to meet him."

"That doesn't sound so bad-"

"Bro. His parents are the OWNERS of Hyperion."

"Yikes! Sorry, Rhys." And Vaughn truely did sound sorry as the smaller male lowered his eyes before looking back up at Rhys. "So what are you going to do?"

"Do? What can I do? I have to meet them. Or they'll send Jack to obedience school." Biting his lip, Rhys looked devastated. "Do you know what they do to omegas there? Even though he's strong, Jack will break. If not his will then his mind. It's a horrible place."

"A-And you know this how?"

Rhys was silent for a long while, taking a deep breath, slowly releasing it shakily before giving Vaughn a haunted look. "I had to be there during collage, bro. I had to see everything that goes on there for my scholarship...."

Gulping, Vaughn's eyes roamed Rhys' face, looking uneasy. "A-and what did happen there?"

"Trust me bro. You don't want to even hear about it. I still have nightmares."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT! WHAT IS THIS?! Is this a long chapter for once?! I have no idea. XD
> 
> So yeah. Got the chapter up, finally. I'm feeling better so thank you to everyone. I mean I still feel sick but not too bad anymore. Thanks for your well wishes.
> 
> Once again, I update late at night. XD I tend to update faster when I get the awesome comments from you all. Thank you so much for being patient with me and for not commenting on how shitty my writing is. XD having no beta, I think I do a good job..... ish?
> 
> Oh yeah, before I forget. I made a new tumblr blog. Here: http://vindlion.tumblr.com/
> 
> I had an old TF2 ask blog named "Ask-Wolfie-and-Support" But because of reasons, I deleted it and started a new one. Not much is going on this blog but I thought I'd just throw it out there.

"Jack please!" Rhys begged, shoving Jack's hands from his tie, adjusting the accessory from where the omega messed it up. Ever since they had arrived at the restaurant, wearing their best dressed clothes, Jack had been fussing over him while being visually agitated. "I don't think that your father's opinion would change based on my looks alone."

Dropping his hands with a reluctant surrender, Jack gave a dry and humorless chuckle, looking Rhys up and down and crossing his arms. "Yeah. I guess so." the omega admitted, a small gleam in his eye. "You do look a little dumb there, kitten."

"Hey!" Pouting, Rhys playfully glared at the omega. While he didn't exactly appreciate being called dumb, he wouldn't argue with Jack right now. The man was more uptight than he had ever seen him before; not even when Rhys had managed to blow up the pizza in the microwave. Oh sure Jack had been pissed when it happened but the omega ended up laughing his ass off about it later. Jack normally never stayed angry long. Proof on this was the smile threatening to appear on the omega's lips.

Giving the omega an encouraging smile, Rhys had just opened his mouth when movement behind the older omega caught his eyes, causing him to look up and see a woman step behind Jack, tapping his shoulder with a pen. Looking her over, Rhys noticed she wore a military uniform with medium length dark brown hair and brown eyes.

The tap was light but in a pattern. One that Jack was all too familiar with. Turning to face the woman, he spread his arms out wide as if greeting an old friend. "Felicity!! So horrible to see you!" The woman's lips twitched to a smirk, raising her clip bored in one arm.

"I see, you still hate me." She noted, looking amused yet her cold, hard eyes went past the omega to the alpha behind him, analyzing the small alpha. Felicity had spent most of her time, since finding out about the young alpha, looking for records of him. With the small files she had managed to acquire, she could say that she wasn't impressed. She even voiced this to Tassiter and his wife. It was very pleasing to find out the man was even less pleased than she had been with the lack of information. No one hides from Hyperion yet this brat had, and to top it all off, had managed to get her boss's own omega son in bed with him. Needless to say that this couldn't go unresolved. That resulted in this little unwanted meeting. However, the bonded smell emitting from both of the two, was not something she had expected. That would be trouble. The alpha was trickier than he had let on.

"Nooooooo..... Ya think?" Jack quipped, returning his arms to the position in front of his chest, leaning on one leg. "Why are YOU here anyway, Felicity? I thought that only family were invited to this.... "party"."

Felicity gave a soft laugh, raising her pen to write something Jack couldn't see, on her clipboard, her lips thinning in displeasure. "I go everywhere Tassiter goes. You know this, John. I AM his secretary."

" _Jack._ " the omega corrected with an annoyed growl, his shoulders stiffening. "And How could I forget? Since you got the job, you had been nothing but a pain in my ass." This earned him a hurt look from the woman as she lowered her clipboard.

"Jack," She gave a sigh, stepping up to him, only to pause when Jack backed away. "You know I had no choice to do what I did. You would have _died_ if I hadn't done that."

"Oh right. Convening Tassiter to send me to that **witch** was defiantly better than death. How could I possibly thank you for all those years of domestic abuse by her hands?"

Felicity's eyes hardened as she stared the omega down where he stood. "Honestly Jack, that's hardly fair." She huffed. "I had no idea she was going to do that. it wasn't my fault." She chided, lips thinning again. "But you have to admit it was better than obedience school where many omegas like you go."

"No. No it really isn't. I'd rather be dead then deal with that. Rather be dead then omega!" At Jack's cry, Rhy bit his lip nervously as he watched the interaction silently. The hateful mood between them was almost suffocating him from where he stood. Based on what he was seeing from the omega from his jerking body in an attempt to keep himself calm and how he would bite back the much desired hissing from his voice made everything very clear. Jack was starting to get hysterical. While the woman before them was oblivious to the subtle changes to the omega, Rhys picked them up, mostly because of the bond and the scent that he alone could smell. The alpha couldn't keep himself from letting out the warning growl that caused the two to glance over at him, Jack in pleading and Felicity with defiance. Felicity snorted and opened her mouth to comment on the alpha's behavior.

Fortunately, she was interrupted by a throat clearing behind her and they all turned to face the new faces. Rhys gasped and stood stiffly while Jack instinctively strolled close to the alpha, looking both pissed off and panicked all in one. There in front of them, stood Tassiter in his black and red suit while the woman wrapped on his arm in a yellow dress must have been Jack's mother, or so Rhys was guessing. Status aside, they both reeked of alpha, which was odd, considering that alpha couples had a 99% chance of producing alpha children yet one was omega and another was beta. Tassiter was watching them both, looking stiff and stern while the woman beside him just smiled at them while looking dreamily around the room.

"Now that the drama is over, We should make our way to our table." Tassiter stated, looking around the restaurant with a faint scrunch of his nose as if he hated the place, making the alpha twitch and hold back his curse. Only just starting and already he had upset the man. "R-Right," Rhys stammered, stepping up to Tassiter with a hand extended. "Allow me to lead us there."

"That should be the host's job." Tassiter Chided Rhys, looking the young alpha over with displeasure. "But if you insist, then do it." Holding back another wince, he looked over to Jack who's head was lowered like an obedient child; a sign of omega _"etiquette"_. Sighing, he proceeded to take them to their table without another word.

"And your brother will be joining us later, John." Jack bite back a growl at the other alpha's tone. "At least ONE of you refrained of being a disappointment."

\---

"This place has too much shrimp." Jack's mother commented with a whine as she flipped through the menu. "Don't they have salads or sirloin?"

"No, Darling. This is a beta restaurant. They can't afford the stuff." Was Tassiter's reply, drinking just a sip the most expensive wine on the menu. "Best they have is skag."

The woman made a disgusted expression. "Ew, yuck!"

Rhys fought back his growl. This was Vaughn's favorite restaurant AND the best he could afford, yet they had nothing better to do than criticize it. The restaurant had been kind enough to help Rhys get his scholorship and feed him when he and Vaughn were down on their luck and these two had the nerve-. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, his eyes practically bore holes in the menu with his heated look. The disrespect on this place made his blood boil. The only thing that stopped him from spitting his thought to the two was Jack's hand on his leg and a whisper from the older man.

"Relax, kitten. They do this everywhere they go. Nothing's good enough for them."

Rhy's reached under the table to squeeze Jack's hand, who squeezed back. "I had thought your mother would have been kinder to. Apparently first impressions are bullshit." He whispered back. Jack's brows scrunched together in confusion. "Uh, she's not my mom, pumpkin." His own brows nearly going to his hairline, Rhys let out a breath of air in surprise.

"So," Tassiter chimed in loudly, lowering his whine glass. "On to business. It seems that I had been.... misinformed on the situation here." His eyes landed on Felicity, making her to admire her menu in great detail and the couple in question stiffen, taking breaths to keep themselves calm. "So you both had bonded." Jack's father commented, crossing his hands together in front of him, leaning forward a bit. "To be honest, I hadn't expected this of my son. To bond so carelessly with an alpha he hardly knows." The two remained silent, which prompted Tassiter to continue. "At this rate, should I expect grandchildren before I had gone past the age of 40?"

 _"You're fifty, you old coot..."_ Jack whispered bitingly to himself, crushing a napkin in his hand while the other rested on his stomach unconsciously under the table. Unfortunately, he wasn't quiet enough as he gained his father's attention.

"What was that, John?"

"Nothing, sir." 

Tassiter frowned, his cold eyes drilled into Jack's skull as his voice lowered into a dangerous level. "What. did. you. say. John? I won't ask again." Baring his teeth, Jack looked the man dead in the eye. "You're fucking, fifty, asshole!"

Silence filled the area as everyone glanced between the two in horror as the air suddenly felt cold, making Rhys shivered. Even the blonde woman who Rhys had THOUGHT was Jack's mother, looked up in utter shock at the omega's response. Muttering curses, Jack lowered his head, giving a small bow; an omega sign of an apology. The small action seemed to pacify Tassiter for only a moment as the alpha threw a glare at the omega. "We WILL talk about this."

Jack didn't respond. He just grabbed dug his nails in the arms of the chair, grabbing at Rhys' hand again to grip it tightly, in which Rhys held it tightly in return, biting back any insults he wanted to throw. He was trying to impress Tassiter to keep Jack from being taken from him. Not ruin this chance. Clearing his throat, he chose to change the subject.

"S-so," Rhys croaked, wincing at the sound as all eyes landed on him. "You own Hyperion.... I work there.... w-well... Sort of... I mean..." He cursed himself. _'Now is not the time to be tripping over your own feet, idiot.'_ He chided himself. As the older alpha turned his nose up at Rhys snobbishly, he seemed amused at intimidating the younger alpha.

"Ah, yes. I think I remember you. Rhys Summers. Head of programming, am I correct?"

"Engineering AND programming actually, sir." Rhys gulped. "It was it's own branch of robotics." Raising his hands, he set them on the table, nervously playing with his fingers. Tassiter raised his wine to sip at it again, humming. "Oh, yes... I forgot about that branch for a moment." His brow raised, almost as if he was slightly impressed. "You are a bit young for that position." He noted, looking Rhys over again.

Rhy gave a soft laugh, giving a small, cocky smile. "Well, it helps when your entire family works in companies that do the same manufacturing."

Tassiter gently swirled the wine in his glass, watching the red liquid spin. "I see. A rival. Not many would admit that they were in a family of rivals. Luckily, you have a clean record. Thus far." His eyes squinted at Rhys. "Your name, however, is familiar. You're an Atlas child. Why are you with Hyperion?"

Raising his flesh hand, Rhys scratched at his head, losing his smirk; barely able to keep a smile in general on his face. "Don't I know it. My parents owned the company and gave it to my sister...." He gave a small, cautious laugh. "Besides, I like Hyperion. Best place to go to get anywhere."

"Also the most dangerous." A familiar, yet new voice spoke up from behind him, making Rhys look back and jump with a surprised cry. This must have been Jack's twin, Timothy. Looking back and forth between Timothy and Jack, he gave a groan. It was scary to look at an exact copy of his mate yet the beta scent messed with his brain. If it hadn't been for the soul patch, the softer look, and the nicer clothes on Timothy, they would have looked exactly alike.

Looking thoroughly amused, Timothy rounded the table to sit in the empty seat beside Tassiter. "Hello, Father. Evening, Gilly." Timothy greeted coolly, making Gilly giggle before looking over at Jack with a soft look, ignoring the glare his brother sent the table. "Hello, Jack." He softly greeted his twin. Only getting a nod from Jack, he took his seat, crossing his arms on the table and leaning on it. "So what are we talking about."

Tassiter's lips thinned, apparently disapproving his other son's late arrival. "Where have you been? You should have been here an hour ago." Timothy shrugged so casually that it made Rhys' head spin in exasperation. "I literally got stuck in traffic. Apparently SOMEONE thought it would be a good idea to arrive here in his most expensive car." Then he grinned, showing his pearly white teeth that nearly blinded the young alpha from how the light shone off them. "So... What were we talking about?"

"Apparently, Mr. Summers is head of our Engineering and Programming department."

Timothy's eyes shone as he looked over at the young alpha. "Oh really? Which branch?" Rhys smiled, finding his mate's twin calming as he stroked his thumb over Jack's hand, trying to relax his shaking. "The robotic branch. I help build and design the guns and robots that go out for testing."

"Oh really?! We have to get coffee some time! I'd love to hear about your projects."

"Not now, Timothy." Tassiter interrupted with the raise of his hand, cutting the conversation off there. Losing his smile, Timothy sat back in his seat. "Yes, Father."

"Good." With a strangled sigh, the older alpha brought a hand to his nose. "Now where was I? Oh yes." He lowered his hand back to the table, glaring over at Rhys while the hand holding the wine stirred faster. "A spawn of a rival company."

"Father-" Jack attempted to interrupt Tassiter only to have the man raise a hand to silence Jack. "I don't want to hear it, John. I will hear what he has to say for himself." Tassiter's attention was brought back to Rhys, making the young alpha squirm under his gaze. "How odd that an alpha child of Atlas had come across an omega that happens to be the eldest of the owners of Hyperion. An alpha who claims to _love_ Hyperion. One would think you were up to something." The accusation had Timothy swirling his body to face Tassiter, face abashed.

"Father, you can't be seriously thinking what I think you're thinking. If he was doing what you are accusing, wouldn't it make more sense for him to come after me?" Rhys was paling and shaking as realization began to hit him. Jack's hand lowered to squeeze his knee as if to tell him to calm down. Jack was no stranger to this game his father liked to play. He often did it to Jack's own friends; ones he actually could make. Only to find them "missing" a few days later.

Tassiter tsked, clicking his tongue. "Don't be foolish, Timothy. Someone of your stature is untouchable." The alpha's eyes moved to Jack. "Yet one of his stature.... I have seen and dealt with this multiple times. Not by Jack mind you. But I am no fool." Tassiter's eyes went to Rhys, noting how terrified Rhys looked. "It's fascinating, the pattern this takes. Alpha sees an omega just there, one day. He looks them up and finds out their family and them claims the omega." A cruel smirk grew on Tassiter's face. "He starts a family with the omega and makes a name for himself, using his weak mate's family to climb the ranks. They have no right to deny it to him. He's family now. And in order to keep his mate in line, he impregnates his mate, pregnant at home to satisfy his needs." Then the alpha laughs. "A tactic I used when I met my first wife, I loved her dearly, despite your everyone's beliefs and yes, she loved me back. I have to say, Runt. I am impressed."

Growling, Rhys slammed his hands on the table and stood. "I would never do that! I love him as much as he loves me! I never knew of his status until he told me." Then Rhys snorted. "While you may think me so low, I have no need to climb the company latter. I'm happy where I am and I did it all on my own, thank you very much! The way you speak about him is disgusting, in all truth."

Then he inhaled sharply. The young alpha hadn't meant to snap. He had just gotten sick of how Jack was being spoken about as if he was just an object to be owned and he couldn't hold it in. It was bad enough that his alpha instincts were telling him to strangle the man before him. He had just enough in him to hold back from doing so. He couldn't afford either being killed by the other alpha or jailed for trying. But now he was dead meat. Clenching his eyes shut, he thought of Jack and the unborn child he was carrying. He would die and never get to see his child be born. Or maybe Tassiter would force him to abort it.

What he wasn't expecting was for Tassiter to start laughing. It wasn't a cruel or cold laugh. It was a laugh that bounced through the room as if he was told a good joke. This made Rhys open his eyes, surprised at the action and he risked a glance to Timothy. The man looked just as baffled as Rhys was. Even Jack had lifted his head to gape at the action. Minutes had passed before the alpha seemed to calm down from his laughing fit; using a handkerchief to wipe tears from his eyes before stuffing the cloth back in his pocket.

"Bravo, I am impressed." The man smirked, darkly yet not cruelly. "You passed. Either that, or you're a really good liar. Not once did I smell a lie in your scent. I have to congratulate you for your courage." Then he stood, Gilly raising with him without a word. "We will speak again. But now, I believe the meeting is over, for now. We will make an arrangement to meet again." He looked over at Timothy. "See that they get home safely."

Timothy gave a stiff nod as Felicity stood to follow Tassiter and his wife. "Yes, Sir...."

\---

"Sir, If I may ask," Felicity started once the three were in the limbo and on the road back to their mansion. "That was more than a mere test." She mused, eyeing the alpha before her. "If I had to make an assumption, I would have to say that you were protective of the young omega."

Tassiter hadn't responded immediately. Choosing to hold Gilly close to him as she slept. Keeping his face neutral, he stared ahead of him at the dark window from the back of the limo. When he did speak, minutes had passed. "You make the assumption that I hate my sons. That thought is false. I love them both dearly." He looked out the window. "John needs to grow up. Life will be hard for him just because he's an omega. If he can not learn to stand up to his own father than what chance does he have against the world? Sending him to my wife's mother, I had hoped to spare him from most of the world's hatred. Only to be proved differently." He glanced over at his secretary. "If there was a woman who hated omega's more, it would have been her. I should have guessed when I managed to save her daughter from her. Though I suppose him being an omega is partially my fault."

Felicity turned to glare at the floor for a while, turning back to her boss, hands gripping her own knees tightly. "What do you mean?"

"You are aware of the drug, Betaomegran?"

Felicity shook her head. "I am afraid I don't, sir." Tassiter hummed, adjusting himself in his seat.

"My wife was addicted to the stuff. It messes with the chemicals in your body. Normally it's given to expecting mothers who are in constant depression due to chemical imbalances from pregnancy. But in safe doses. I was.... young... foolish. She was always running out and I was..... stupid enough to keep getting more for her. It ended up messing with the chemicals in her womb... Affecting our children. She died after Timothy was born." He closed his eyes. "It's what made John omega and Timothy beta. They should have both been alpha according to the doctor; assuming she hadn't taken the drug in the first place...."

Looking away, he opened his eyes to stare out at the window. "I suppose they were lucky to have an endotype to begin with. They could have been born with defects like so many others. Males born with no sex. Females born with male genitals.... Or sexless.... So much can happen in a birth defect.... Where something goes wrong in the womb."

There was silence after that. Felicity's head was buzzing as she watched her boss. Eventually she spoke up. "What was she? Your wife?"

He turned to her, but only a moment before he went back to the window. "An alpha."

\---

"FUCKING COCK SUCKER!!!" Kicking over a chair and effortlessly breaking it as it hit the wall, putting a large dent in the drywall, Jack stormed around his living room. Timothy had brought Rhys and Jack to the omega's home before driving off, after giving Rhys his number. Standing in Jack's living room, he was still shaking from the experience from earlier. The should from his mate was enough to snap him out of his stupor to stride across the room, holding his hands out as if soothing and enraged horse.

"Jack. Please relax.... Remember the baby." He spoke soothingly despite his shaking, keeping his hands held out to reach forthe omega, who turned to the alpha with a snarl.

"HOW CAN I NOT REMEMBER THE BABY, RHYS?! I CARRY THE LITTLE FUCKER!" Then he dug his fingers to his hair, taking a loud, deep breath, lowering his hand to rub his belly. "Papa's sorry... He didn't mean it. You're not a fucker." Then he threw his hands away and growled, eyes wide, wild, and shining from unshead tears. "Look at me, Rhys... I'm going crazy...." Then the omega began to pace the room with Rhys gauging him. "Shit... We could have... he could have... I.... I'm going to kill him.... I swear...." That was when the dam broke and Jack was holding himself, crying.

Holding his mate closer, he inhaled Jack's scent deeply. He was just as shaken by the incident with Tassiter just as much as Jack was. Feeling his mate hold tightly to him, he lowered his head only to be met with a needy kiss from the omega. Kissing back lightly, he rubbed Jack's back softly, grunting when Jack put more force in the kiss, only breaking away to look at Rhys, straight in the eyes. "Don't you dare... Don't you fucking let me go tonight..." Then he pulled Rhys back in another kiss, pushing them both to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...... If you have any thoughts on this story, feel free to share them. XD It could be anything.
> 
> I won't give any spoilers on major plot points but I will give you ONE treat for being awesome. But I will give it to you in question form.
> 
> Anyone know who the baby will be? ;)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY HANDS HURT! I know this is a bit sloppy. I'm sorry. I may edit it later.
> 
> I will also attempt to make the chapters lighter. Like, happier. Because I don't want this to be an all angst story.

"Jack, please! No!"

"I swear, if you don't take off that god damn tie right now!"

"Come on! It's fashionable!"

"You tuck it into your pants! That's not fashion, that's a god damn disaster waiting to happen!"

"It looks great!"

"It looks stupid!"

"Come on! That's not fair! It's in style!"

Three weeks. That's how long it's been since the meeting with Tassiter. Which, given how long it's been since Jack took the test, it makes the omega a month pregnant. And boy was that month a ride. Jack's sense of smell had increased ten fold and always seemed to know exactly what Rhys was cooking from all the way across the other side of the house.

"Oh damn! Is that Turkey?! I fucking want that! Give it to me, kitten! Expecting mother here!" Using his pregnancy as an excuse, Jack would successfully steal Rhys' lunch without complaint from the alpha despite having food of his own.

Other times, the smell had Jack running to the bathroom, puking his guts up.

"Ugh! Fucking tuna. I'm going to kill everyone who eats the stuff... oh god....." With his head over the porcelain bowl, Jack vowed death on everyone who ate tuna, only to turn around hours later and crave the offending food.

All through this, Rhys would patiently wait on his mate, rubbing his back when he ran to the bathroom and fed him when he demanded a home cooked meal like a king. Rhys had jokingly made a comment that they might as well live together with how much they resembled a married couple.

"We technically are, cupcake...." Jack had stated blandly before glaring in realization. "Hey, how come we don't live together? You should move in kitten. Take care of little old me."

Which is how their current argument over Rhys' tie came about; the alpha going house hunting, wanting to look his best for when they went to meet the real estate agent. Having thought that the tie had worked with the outfit, he put it on; Jack had apparently thought otherwise.

"Just take the fucker off!" Jack cried, grabbing at the tie, furiously trying to untie the offending bit of fabric all the while Rhys was making an attempt to push the omega's hands away. "You'll thank me later."

Rhys whined. "It's just a tie, Jack. Come on, We're going to be late." Yelping when Jack slapped his hands away from making an attempt to tie it back on as the older man yanked the tie off the alpha.

Snorting, Jack held the tie between the tips of his fingers like it was toxic. "It's a god damn noose is what it is, cupcake. This thing could strangle an ant." tossing the tie behind him, it fluttered to the floor with a satisfying _'plop'_ "Now are we going or what?"

Growling, Rhys leaned forward where he stood to pout at the omega. "I love that tie. What is it with you and Vaughn always making me take it off? I hate you."

"No you don't." Jack pointed out with a smug smirk, peaking over at the alpha while he pulled on his coat to protect him from the recent cold weather outside.

"No.... I don't..." Rhys could only agree with a defeated sigh.

\---

They decided not to get the first house that was offered. While it was structurally sound, the neighborhood was something Jack had oddly found to be ominous and the omega couldn't stop himself from constantly looking over his shoulder and shaking. Pushing his hands in his pockets, the older man tried to play it off but Rhys had seen enough. Choosing to wait until another house was available, Rhys could barely drop Jack off to work before going to his apartment to change in his work outfit. The alpha felt an odd sense of dominance once he got home. Pulling out an identical tie to the one he left at his mate's house, he put it on, grinning smugly to himself in the mirror once dressed (tie included), he strode out of the house for work.

The smugness never lasted when he got to work. Burying himself in his work at his computer, his fingers tapped wildly on the key bored as he typed out the code he was currently working on, only taking enough time away to drink some coffee from the cup he had sitting beside him, not once had his eyes left the screen. Rubbing his sore eyes, he spared a glance at his clock. He had been working for an hour and already it felt like it had been years. Yawning, he reached over to grab his cup, only for his hand to bump it and spill it all over his desk.

"Oh no!" Standing, he reached under his desk for his emergency towel, dabbing at the coffee before it could reach his computer. Once the mess was clean, he held the towel over his head in victory. "HA! I knew I kept you around for something!"

"Mr. Summers?"

"AH!!!" tossing the towel in the air in surprise, Rhys whirled to face the voice, ignoring the high pitched girly scream he had let out and cleared his throat. It was Felicity, the woman from the restaurant weeks ago. Raising her brow as the reaction she got, Rhys could see a smile tug at her lips. "Nice." Rhys scowled.

"Yeah... hilarious...." He muttered blandly, frowning at her. "What did you want? Dare I ask." Bending down, he grabbed the towel that had only landed a few inches in front of him when he threw it in the air. Either that or he had ended up hitting someone in another cubicle and thrown it back....... That had happened once before. It wasn't until he was upright and had tossed the cloth on his desk when she had replied.

"You're needed in Timothy's office."

Smiling, he didn't needed to be told twice as he immediately headed to there without a word. He liked the beta well enough from the short time he had known him.

\---

It was not Timothy who was in the office. Poking his head in the room, Rhys frowned with how dark it was. Stepping out of the elevator that lead to the CEO's office, he took cautious steps deeper in the room, thinking he had been pranked. The alpha was about to turn back out into the elevator when he saw a dark silhouette by the window, looking down into the factory section of the company. At first, Rhys couldn't make out who it was. Squinting his eyes, he activated his echo eye, scanning the lone figure and gasped when he found out who it was.

"M-Mr. Lawrence?" He squeaked, straightening up, arms crossed behind his back, concealing a fist. "What, I mean.... Why.... I'm sorry... Am I interrupting?"

There was no movement. No response other than the young alpha's soft breathing. He didn't want to even risk scratching his nose if it would get him in trouble. Finally, the man peaked over his shoulder at Rhys for only a moment before turning back.

"I told Timothy to take the day off. I need to speak with you, Son-in-law." His voice seemed to echo off the walls, making Rhys wince. Blinking at what Tassiter had called him, he laughed nervously, feeling sweat begin to appear on his body.

"Son-in-law? I don't know what you're talking about...." He squeaked, scratching his lower jaw and made an attempt to laugh it off. The awkward silence that followed was thick.

"Don't try to fool me. Any idiot can smell it. You make no attempt at blocking the smell. The bond is very strong." Tassiter stated, not bothering to turn to Rhys, keeping himself in the same position as he had been with his arms behind his back and solemn look on his face. "Come here. I want to show you something."

Wincing at getting caught, Rhys slowly stepped beside Tassiter, looking through the window at the scientists moving and working in the room below them. They all were doing routine work while mechanics and janitors moved around them as the scientists built and wrote things on their desks; some using the practice range in the room while others hid behind the protective glass, watching. Janitors when in and out of the maintenance closets, cleaning things that needed to be cleaned while mechanics helped the scientists. Nothing that was happening there was anything new.

At first, Rhys thought that there was supposed to be something out of place. So he continued to scan and watch everyone and everything. But nothing had changed or gone wrong. Eventually he had turned to Tassiter with a confused look, brow raised high. "I don't see anything, sir."

Without missing a beat, Tassiter's head turned to a desk where a scientist and mechanic were both working on a broken loader bot leg. "Do you see that desk?" Rhys followed his boss' gaze to the desk. "Mary Gray, age 28. Lead scientist in this sector. The year was 1972. She was found, beaten and raped, tied to a radiator. Killed herself two years later after having a baby from the man who raped her." Rhys' mouth tasted bitter at hearing that and was about to voice why he was being told this when Tassiter pointed to a maintenance closet.

"Jerry Kay, age 19. Janitor. The year was 2001. He was found decapitated and body mangled. His killer was found and sent to prison." Then Tassiter pointed over at the shooting gallery. "Darren Balore. Age 35. Intern. Year 2005. He was shot in the head and somehow survived. He lives with a disability to this day and needs to be fed through a tube." Taking a deep breath, holding it for only a moment before he relased the air, ignoring how nervously Rhys shifted. Finally taking the time to turn his neck to face the younger alpha. "Do you know why I am telling you this?"

"I...." Looking back at the room, Rhys could only imagine the scenes that were placed in his head. From Mary to Jerry, to Darren. He could almost see how they had suffered. But No. He did not know why his boss was telling him this. Shaking his head, he watched as Tassiter casually stepped to the desk and sat down in the seat, the only light from the window.

"It is because, all those, and many others, who had suffered in that room alone were all omegas." Rhys paled, moving to the front of the desk, watching the older alpha intently, his mouth too dry to move. Leaning on the desk, Tassiter continued wearing his serious expression. "Many wonder why Hyperion doesn't hire omegas. THAT is the reason we don't." Leaning back, the older man closes his eyes, looking tired. "It is much too dangerous for an omega to work in a cooperation full of alphas. And we can't simply just fire the alphas without reason. Balancing a company like this one is dangerous and tricky. Everyone starts out with a clean slate but it always gets dirtied." Tassiter opened his eyes. "And that is the most depressing thing. I can interview everyone who applies. Pick the best and the safest. But even the ones with the best record are the ones that can't always be trusted."

Giving a dry laugh, the man continued. "I find that sometimes the ones with the dirtiest slate often prove themselves the best...." He gave a hum. "Rosalinda. Age 21. Was attacked by an alpha, 1994. She was saved by a man I hired only a week ago. The man had countless degrees of murder and theft on his record. He was to be a janitor. Hearing a sound of an omega in trouble, he ran to her rescue and managed to beat the alpha until she was nothing but a bloody pile. The alpha was a woman, yes. But she was just as strong and capable of hurting him as much as another man."

"S-sir....?" Rhys squeaked, fidgeting where he stood. He was aware of alphas, considering he was one. Gender didn't matter. If you were alpha, you were strong, that was clear enough. "Is this... Why Jack doesn't work for Hyperion?"

The question made Tassiter give a snort, grinning as he folded his hands in front of his mouth. "You make it sound like I haven't offered him a job. He wants to have Hyperion, yes. But he turned the job down."

The young alpha blinked. Jack refused? That couldn't be right. He remembered hearing the omega brag about the company at times when the man thought Rhys wasn't there. "But I thought-"

"OWNING and WORKING for Hyperion are two different things, Mr. Summers." Tassiter interrupted with a chuckle before the solemn look on his face returned. "John isn't ready. I have done what I could to show him what to expect.... But I am afraid that my time is coming to an end." Closing his eyes tightly, bothered by a thought. "Unfortunately, he will have to be ready. Jack is hot headed. He is reckless. He doesn't think ahead and he doesn't care about the consequences of his actions....." The old alpha gave a soft amused laugh. "But he is smart. He is resilient.... But I need you to promise me one thing before you leave here..."

"S-sir... I don't under-"

"Don't interrupt me, boy." The stern look Tassiter sent Rhys made the young alpha's jaw snap shut with a clack. Closing his eyes once again, he let out a breath of air from his nose. "Promise me that you will watch over my son. Timothy won't be able to much longer. I need you to do it. Call it an old man's last request."

Rhys' brows pinched together in concern. "I... I promise... But sir..." frowning, Rhys grabbed his metal arm, rubbing it. "I don't understand."

Tassiter's response was a warm chuckle. "You will. Now go. I wish to be alone."

Rhys could not scramble out of there fast enough, haunted by what he had just been told.

\---

Sitting in the dark, eyes closed, Tassiter gave out a soft laugh. The boy hadn't been gone long enough. "Stealth isn't your specialty, Dear Athena."

A shadow separated itself from the rest, stepping into the light to show a raven haired woman. "I wanted you to hear me, uncle." She replied sadly, glancing down at her uncle. "Why'd you tell him that? There was no need."

"Because there will be worse things he will have to face. Especially if he is to have a child with my son." Tassiter sighed. "I am a foolish old man who babbles nothing. What does it matter?" He laughs. "'A business man knows business but he dare no touch politics.' as my father once said."

"Pardon?"

"It means to only share information you know and not bullshit you guess."

Athena crossed her arms and scoffed. "You gave useless information to a boy about omegas that were killed."

"The memories of those omegas didn't go to waste, dear."

Thinking about this, Athena's eyes widened. "You gave him codes.... You turned the death of those omegas into codes. But for what?"

"Something important dear. But that is not for you to know." Tassiter sighed, relaxing in his chair. "So. You are here to kill me."

"I don't want to..."

"I know, my dear." His hands lowered to fold over his stomach. "So who was it? Dahl?"

"Dahl." the female alpha confirmed with a nod, her fingers tapping on her arms softly.

"I see." The old alpha hummed. "So how is, Zarpedon doing? Is she well?"

"She is not, uncle. She is sick." Athena walked around the desk to lean on it.

Tassiter nodded. "I see.... And her son?"

She shrugged. "Kreig ran off and married a woman named Maya. Typical Beta and Alpha thing, Kreig being the beta."

"I had no idea... I always pegged him as an alpha."

"Everyone did...."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Neither wanting to make the first move nor mention about the assassination. But it sadly couldn't be avoided. "Jack will never forgive you for this when he finds out. You're basically stabbing him in the back."

The older alpha laughed, opening his eyes to her. "Think of it as another way of fondly giving him a hard time."

"He won't see it that way."

"I know."

Sighing, Athena stood. "We... should get this over with." Her voice was laced with grief as she stared pitifully down at her uncle. He, in return, waved a hand as if he was casually declining a tea.

"You are right. We should not delay the inevitable.... You're a good woman, Athena. Give your wife my regards."

"I..." Her voice shook. "I will."

"Oh, and one last thing dear. Don't make a mess."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"T-Timmy?" Jack uttered with a shaky gasp, having feared he would be killed. He never expected anyone to be able to stop a bullet with mere light alone._
> 
> _Standing before Jack, was Timothy, covered from head to toe in glowing tattoos that seeped energy like a mist. Looking back at his twin, Timothy held the most mournful expression on his face._
> 
> _"I'm sorry Jack.... I failed you. " he sobbed, holding a hand to the omega as blue transparent wings pulled from his body._
> 
> _"I don't understand! What are you? !"_
> 
> _The last thing he remembered before waking up in bed was a bright light._

_Month 3_

"Jack. D-did you sit in sugar because..... Oh dear..." There was the clearing of a throat. "You have a really sweet ass."

Looking up from the papers he had currently been engrossed in with a glare, he turned to Namayaka who stood outside his cubicle, fumbling with the many flashcards that he held in his hands.

"Did you just..." Disbelief flooded his voice as his brows furrowed in his agitation and disgust at the situation he had just found himself in. "Try to hit on me?" He sneered as the pharmacist began to babble as he sorted through his notes again, probably to look up a response for that. 

"Yeah, okay. No. First off, pumpkin." Leaning to the nervous alpha, he growled threateningly, reaching a hand out to him, jabbing at the other male's chest with a finger. "I'm mated. Second," His hand lowered under the flashcards and flicked his wrist, sending the cards flying as the alpha fumbled to catch them as they fluttered down. "Gross. Conversation over. Get out of my sight, Namahaka." Then he casually turned back to the papers he was fixing. 

When Namayaka made no sign of moving and instead when to speak again only to babble nonsense, face red, whether it was from embarrassment or from being near his obsession, Jack had no clue nor did he care, the omega stood and turned to him faster than a bolt of lightning. "GET OUT OF HERE!!" Not only did he gain frightened looks and terrified whines from the other omegas in the room, but Namayaka ran out of there, not bothering to pick up whatever left over cards he had forgotten.

Sighing, Jack flopped back in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly. Letting his hands drop loosely to his lap, he rests his head back as he leans his chair back to relax. Wrapping his arms lazily behind his head, he closes his eyes when he spotted the cards on the floor. Putting his chair back on all fours, he bent down and grabbed them, reading them with a snort.

"Oh man, these are so bad. Wait until I tell Rhys. The kid will flip." He tried to hide his laughter. He really did. But the second he sat back up all the way, he cackled wildly, hand going to his face to cover his eyes. However his humor didn't last long as his laughter soon morphed into crying and next thing he knew, his head was resting in his arms as he bawled. The other omegas looked to each other, some uncomfortable, others pitying. Most already further in their pregnancy than Jack was, would look the other way, not wanting to remember the times they had done the same thing.

The strange, new, aggressive omega frightened them. He wasn't like them. Mean, strong, bold. He dared to fight and mock the alphas who came near him. They wondered why his alpha let him get away with it. When they couldn't make since of it, they quickly came to the conclusion that he had been left after impregnation, despite the smell of the bond. It wasn't the first time one of their own had been forced to bond after impregnation only to be abandoned.....

....Those omegas never lasted long.

And they kept to themselves, not wanting to get concerned or attached to an omega who would only die without a mate.

Ignoring the looks, Jack ended up hurrying to the omega bathroom to clean himself up. He had stopped crying by the time he had gotten in there and was now currently glaring at the glass. Leaning on the sink in front of him, he glared at his reflection with a snarl.

"The fuck is wrong with me? What was that?" He asked, anger lacing his voice, turning on the sink, he cupped his hands under the water, splashing himself with the cool liquid. "Get a grip, Jack." His hand goes to his hair, letting his fingers lace through his brown locks. "Can't have this handsome face be ruined by some tears." He grimaced when he looked back at his reflection and saw his eyes, puffy and red from his crying.

"Eh... That'll fade in a few minutes." Fixing his hair, he grabbed a paper towel and wiped the water off his face. Throwing it away, he left the restroom. "It's time for my lunch anyway."

 

\---

"Hey, Handsome."

Jack smirked at Rhys' greeting as his alpha mate kissed the side of his forehead. "Hey, Weenie." He replied, coyly, turning to kiss Rhys back, chuckling when the alpha gave a cute pout. Uncaringly, the omega took a bite out of his wrap, chewing with a purpose, giving the skinny alpha a cocky smirk.

"You could at least not call me that. I'm not a weenie." Rhys grumbled, sitting across the table in the food court of the store. He was planning on just grabbing a sandwich for lunch when he saw Jack and couldn't contain his excitement to greet his mate.

Giving a laugh at Rhys' discomfort, he swallowed his food and grabbed his drink. "You're right." He purred softly, making Rhys blush slightly. "You're a super weenie."

"I am not a weenie!" Rhys cried out, momentarily looking around to make sure no one had heard him. Face red, he whined when he saw the older man give him another cocky smirk.

"Yes you are." Jack stated, sipping his drink once more before setting it down on the table. "The biggest weenie of them all. And I do mean that in more ways than one." He winked to the alpha, making the younger male choke on his spit. Grabbing a hold of the table, Rhys barely managed to keep himself from falling onto the floor.

But the omega got what he wanted and that was to see Rhys' entire face mimic a tomato. Stiffening his shoulders, he opened the wrapping from his sandwich and took a angry bite out of it. "Please can we not talk about that in public?"

"And why not?" The omega questioned with a raised brow, leaning on the table out of boredom. "It's not like anyone's gonna care, kiddo. Besides. You're MY weenie. Anyone who starts shit will have to face me."

"Can we just, not- look Jack. I love you and all, but you can be an ass sometimes." Rhys tried to frown. He really did. But he felt he couldn't honestly scold his mate and be serious about it. There was a certain air about Jack that made it feel like the omega could do anything he wanted. And yet the alpha found that feeling to be rather enjoyable. "And you're pregnant, remember? You can't get into fights. It'll hurt the baby." Reaching over, he placed his hand on Jack's stomach, feeling the slight roundness under the touch.

Giving a snort, the omega smacked the hand off his stomach to lean back casually in his chair. "Geeze, way to scream it to the world, bucko." He bit softly, drinking his soda. "I'll remember that next time you want to keep a secret."

Surprised at Jack's sudden anger, he rubbed his sore hand with his fake one, eyeing the omega nervously. "Is there something wrong?" He asked, pulling his chair closer to the omega. "You seem a bit tense."

 

Shifting a sideways look over at Rhys, Jack let out a sigh, feeling his anger ebb away. "Sorry, kiddo. I've been like this all day. I guess the house hunting is just stressing me out." He chuckled dryly. "You should just move into my house. You practically live there anyway."

Sighing, Rhys gave his lover a soft smile and scooted closer so that their sides were touching. Wrapping his arms around the omega, he pulled Jack into his arms, feeling the omega give in and rest his head on Rhys' shoulders, making the younger man smile. This was good. Normally Jack wouldn't let Rhys do this in public. The older male was private and rather kept any affection they shared, private. But on rare occasions like this, Rhys was able to sneak a few public affection to the older man. Fake hand going to Jack's belly, he gently rubbed the tiny swell. It wasn't big nor was it noticeable. But the alpha couldn't help but touch it anyway. That was his baby. He made that. It was enough to make his heart sing.

"Hey." He cooed softly to the tired omega, using his free hand to rub up and down Jack's shoulder, softly. "We'll find a good house soon. One with enough space and privacy. It'll be perfect to raise Rhys Jr."

His joke worked... sort of. Jack looked up at him sternly with a raised brow.

"Why the hell do you think I'd let you name the kid Rhys jr.?"

Rhys could only laugh.

\---

Most of the day was uneventful. Or it was until. Rhys picked Jack up from work. It was an odd silence between them as the alpha drove. Glancing at Jack every once in a while, Rhys bit his lip lightly. His fingers drummed on the steering wheel when they stopped at a red light, street light shone brightly over them. Eventually his fidgeting got too annoying for Jack to ignore.

"Look, cupcake. If you want to say something, then say it already. I have heartburn, I don't need another headache to go with it." Tiredly glaring at Rhys, he gave a soft huff.

Clearing his throat a little, Rhys took a deep breath, keeping his eyes ahead of him. "A-are you going to the funeral?" At first, Jack hadn't said a word. It wasn't until the light turned green and they were moving again did he get an answer. 

"No..."

Lips thinning, Rhys took another deep breath. "Why not?" He asked softly. Jack shrugged, staring ahead blankly, eyes devoid of any emotion.

"No reason to." The omega answered, giving a yawn.

"No reason- Jack he was your father."

"He was a dickhead who just so happened to sire me." The omega growled, baring his teeth. "I want nothing to do with that man and I don't plan on going to his funeral. That's final. I don't want to hear another thing about it."

"But... Jack..." The stopped at a red light and now Rhys had turned his head, looking at Jack mournfully. "Didn't you love him? Even a little? I'm sure he loved you and had his reasons for doing what he did." And Tassiter did. Remembering the meeting with the man in the company. There were a lot of reasons for the man to do what he had done.

Unfortunately, Jack didn't see it that way as he gave a dry snort and a sharp bark of laughter. "The man cared more about making money than he did his own kids. You know who he left us with? Our grandmother. She favored Timothy, you know. He was a beta. Not good enough like an alpha but close enough. She used to beat me with her cane every time I walked passed her." He hissed, looking away from the alpha. "Then he sent me to live with her when I had my first heat... trust me, Rhys. He never loved me."

Thinning his lips more, he sighed. This was a conversation for another day. Right now, he didn't want to upset the pregnant omega any further. "Well... I'm going. You're welcome to come if you change your mind."

"I won't."

\---

Jack never came to the funeral. Rhys didn't push him to either. The funeral was quick and small. Tassiter had wanted to be cremated and his ashes locked in a vault so it was nothing fancy. Standing beside Timothy, he could see the beta's face just as blank as Jack's had been. Only unlike his mate, Timothy's eyes held grief in them. A war of emotions in his lover's twin. Rhys had to stop himself from pulling the man in for a hug.

It wasn't until the whole ordeal was over and all the guest left did Timothy pull Rhys to a nearby tree in the graveyard, eyes dark.

"Alright Rhys." He growled. "You have some explaining to do. Did you and Jack plan this?"

Sputtering, the alpha pushed the beta's hands off him, sending his own glare to him. "What are you talking about?"

"The murder! Camera's showed you were the last one to meet with him!" Then his expression morphed into pleading, grabbing the alpha's shoulders. "Rhys please. Tell me you didn't do it. Tell me you didn't kill my father..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's kinda short. Haha. I'm tired but hey. More development? I will try to make these chapters longer.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo..... Surprise? Sorry it's late? I have no excuse for not writing other than I recently have been trying to animate and was being a scrub by playing DBZ Xenoverse 2. Hahahahahahaha!!!! *sweat-drop* anyway. Here's a new chapter.

Eyes widening, Rhys' mouth dropped. Raising his hands, he blurted out his answer quickly:

"No, No!" Looking at the where the cars from the rest of the family were slowly fading in the distance, he looked back at the anguished face of the son of his late boss. Lowering his shaking hands, he attempted to regain his composure.

"Timothy. I swear... I don't know what happened. Your dad called me in there to speak to him. He was just fine when I left." His wide eyes scanned Timothy's face as the older man appeared to be taking his plea in consideration. Feeling himself shake, he gently took the beta's hands.

The beta flinched at his touch; the man suddenly stiffening as his eyes hardened before the older man gave a few sniffs, eyes scanning around as his hands tightened on Rhys' suit. In his confusion at the beta's odd behavior, the alpha took a couple sniffs with a frown. Not smelling anything different than before, Timothy's behavior was foreign to him.

Turning back to the alpha, Timothy pulled Rhys off the tree he had recently pinned the Skinner male. Choosing to push Rhys in front of him, he grabbed the confused and alarmed alpha by the elbow, pulling him to a limbo where the driver waited loyally; opening the door for the two.

"Ride with me. It's not safe out here."

\---

Knocking on Lillith's door, Jack played with the papers in his hand. He hated her. If he was blunt, Lillith was a bitch who liked to boss the omegas around. While, despite being over Vasquez on the career ladder, she was not actually in control of Hugo's department. Vasquez, despite being a cocky sleazebag, actually treated the omegas in his care fairly, contrary to belief. If there was one thing, the man surprised Jack with that after the omega got into a fist fight with a random alpha during his first week of working. The beta had stepped in and defused the situation rather quickly; not that there was much left to defuse since Jack basically beat the alpha to a pulp. But no one saw the man since so he suppose Vasquez got the man fired.

But Lillith. Oh god she was a nightmare to work with. Especially when Jack had to hand her the monthly reports of their sales. Each time he brought them to her, she not only had a comment for him but tended to threaten him, not that it phased Jack. The omega had found half of them very amusing while the other half of them were either lame or crude. But she never took fifteen minutes to collect the papers.

"Bitch tits! Get your fucking papers!" Scowling, Jack banged on her door once again, making the it slide open with a quiet, agonizing creak. Anger slowly evaporating in surprise as he lowered his hand to his side, other hand holding the papers tightly as he scanned around the hallway before eyeing the door again. A mischievous grin formed on his face as the omega poked his head into the room, looking around for any sign of the woman he was reporting to. When he found no one, Jack quickly slid in and closed the door behind him, chuckling. 

_"Finally."_ he thought. _"Time to snoop."_ Flicking the door lock; the lock let out a satisfying click before he pushed away from it. Looking at the room, it seemed just like any ordinary, boring office. But one thing stood out the moment Jack had actually taken the time to pay attention. It was quiet. That was strange. The offices outside the room and beyond were extremely loud and obnoxious. And even if you were in an office distant from the others, you could still hear the chatter from the others who took up space there.

Frowning, his head twisted to the nearby window; blind drawn to keep anyone from the outside cubicles from peaking in. Stepping to them, Jack pulled a little bit of the blind away, tapping on the glass. When the woman who stood just outside it didn't react, he tapped harder. Still no response. Frowning, he banged on the glass, scowling when the woman did nothing but sip her coffee as she spoke to her alpha on the phone.

"Soundproof glass.... interesting..." He let the blind go, turning back to the rest of the room. "What could you be hiding, bitch tits.....?"

His first instinct was to step to the clearly cluttered desk, looking as if Lillith was in too much of a hurry to organize before she had rushed out. Arching a brow, the omega noticed the a light and followed it to a flashing computer monitor, icon blinking from an unread e-mail. Quickly taking a seat at the office chair, he spared a quick glance at the door before pulling the key bored closer to him and grinned. Stretching up, he popped his fingers and lowered them, wiggling the digets like an excited child.

"Lets see what papa has got to work with." Jack whispered to himself, placing his hand at the key bored. Fingers dancing over the keys, he pressed in a password that was commonly used for everyday workers.

"Incorrect? How strange." Smirking, he typed in another. Again, it was incorrect. "Well, well. Someone clearly doesn't want someone finding anything on their computer. Luckily my bosses are too stupid to know that I practically made these things as a kid."

Practically shaking at the joy of this challenge, he continued to type in code after code. After the tenth one, the omega was beginning to get pissed off when he glanced over to see a picture of Lillith with her military husband. Eyes squinting, his gaze shifted from the picture to the computer.

"Could she really.....?"

Wasting no time, he typed in "Roland." Sure enough, the screen shone with life as the e-mail popped up, instantly showing the three messages that had been sent the passed hour. Frowning, Jack pulled the seat closer, eyeing the subjects of the e-mails that had yet to be read.

"A dog named Siren?" He questioned, opening one and growled when the e-mail contained nothing but a voice recording; waiting to be played. Snorting, the omega fished for the USB drive he placed in his pocket earlier that day and jammed it into the computer. "I'll save you for later."

For one, he didn't need to be discovered in there and another thing, he had to get back to work before he was discovered missing. setting to work, the file was taking a while to save over. Using that time he had left, Jack checked out the other e-mails and reading them over, he frowned when he saw a list of numbers.

"What are those? Some kind of code? No, too small to be code." Baffled, he quickly saved the other two e-mails on the computers note pad and placing it on the flash drive as well before deleting the original and emptying the trash bin. Smirking when the transferring process was finished, he took out his USB drive and marked the e-mails as "unread" before turning off the moniter and standing out of the chair to head for the door. Unfortunately, he had just gone around the desk when the door knob suddenly started to jiggle as if someone was trying to get in. Paling, the omega scurried for a place to hide, which was difficult. The room was spacey and lacked areas to hide in or behind. Looking up, the vents were too small for his body to fit in so that left one option. Hiding under the desk.

Practically twisting himself into a pretzel, Jack held onto his long lets, biting his tongue to keep quiet as the door opened and the sound of jingling keys and Lillith's arrogant chuckle rang through the room.

"See?" the omega heard her say. "I told you I locked it before I left." Was she speaking to someone? Jack remained quiet as her footsteps drew closer to the desk, followed by another set of foot steps and the door closing behind the newcomer.

"Are you sure he doesn't know a thing?" The newcomer rang out. "If he's anything like his father, he could cause trouble. You know how they are."

Lillith laughed, opening a file cabnet. "Please. Jack's as clueless as a baby. He doesn't know a thing." the omega heard papers shuffling. "Besides, I can keep an eye on him here. He won't be a problem." The other woman gave a hum as Lillith apparently pulled out a form.

"But lets say he does find out about all this... You know I can't help but be concerned about it all."

"Athena, Leave John to me. There's nothing that omega can do. Not with that cub growing in his belly." Jack's hand instantly went to his stomach, baring his teeth. Athena? What was she doing here? Fighting to keep himself from growling, he bit his lip to keep silent and still.

"I know.... It's just-" Athena had cut off, letting out a noise. "I swear I can smell him. It's like he's here." Stiffening, the omega's eyes widened. No, no! Don't let me be found. Athena's foot steps grew close to the desk as he heard her sniffing. Although, luck was on his side as Lillith huffed, closing the file cabinet.

"I know, right. But don't worry. It's just from the files he gives me. They tend to build up and make the whole room reek of him." Then the door was opened again. "Come on. We have what we need." Relaxing, he listened as the footsteps leave the room and the door closed and locked behind him. Letting out the big breath of air he was holding, the omega waited five minutes to be sure they were gone.

Climbing out with stiff muscles, Jack booked it out of there, making sure to lock the door before he closed it again.

 

\---

 

"You swear on your life that you didn't do it?" Rhys felt small under Timothy's gaze. Practically shrinking in the back seat of the limbo, the alpha quickly nodded.

"Yes." He chimed, voice shaking almost as bad as his body was. "I swear. All he and I did was talk. You can even look at the footage on the inside of the room."

Timothy, who was leaned in to stare intently at Rhys, leaned back in an almost eerie way. Raising his hands, the beta folded his hands over one another to lean his head on them, closing his eyes before taking a deep breath in and out through his nose slowly before opening his eyes once more.

"That's the thing." Timothy began, tilting his head but eyeing the alpha. "The cameras in that room were turned off. Which is strange since father always made sure he could be seen. Yet-" The beta leaned forward again, placing his hands on his knees, looking meaninglessly. "I find it extremely convenient that the second my father doesn't have cameras on him, in a room where cameras are ALWAYS on, that you leave and my father is dead." Timothy bared his teeth, making Rhys flinch and back further in his seat.

"Kinda funny now that I think about it." The beta chuckled. "You, an alpha who is mated to my brother, should be the one of suspicion." Then the beta's expression seemed troubled, like he was fighting an inner battle before looking at the frightened alpha once more.

"Fine then." The older man began. "Lets say that it wasn't you who did it.... Was it...." Timothy gulped softly, looking a little horrified. "Was it Jack....? Did Jack kill him?"

Shaking his head quickly, Rhys growled, defending his mate. "You know he wouldn't. Jack is a lot but he's not a murderer.... You know this. He's your brother. You know he wouldn't...."

Timothy was silent. Even as he leaned back in his seat, looking defeated as he sighed. "Once upon a time, I could say that I knew Jack as much as people think I do." Watching the alpha, the beta looked tired. "Once upon a time, I knew everything about him and very little bothered me." His eyes land on the passing scenery outside. "But things change and there is much about Jack, I wish I could forget...."

 

Rhys bit his lip, staring at the beta before him, mind switching from fear of being jailed for a crime he did not commit, to curiosity, then to confusion on what would happen next before the thought would go back in a circle. Eventually the beta sighed and faced Rhys again.

"I can not rightly accuse you. But as much as I wish you innocent, I have to do what is best for everyone." Rhys stiffened and his blood ran cold. "Rhys, your employment with Hyperian has been suspended until further notice. Do not come back in until we tell you. You might want to seek employment elsewhere." Then the limbo stopped at Rhys' house, letting the alpha out on shaky legs. "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Then just like that, the limbo was gone.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not happy with this chapter but here you go.
> 
> I's 5 am, I'm sick (literally) and I am tired. So I'm going to bed now. XD

Crossing his legs, Jack relaxes on the couch of his home, chewing on a pencil eraser as his hands tapped furiously on the laptop that sat in his lap; fingers barely grazing a key on the key bored before it went to another key, eyes focused on the paper work on the screen. Growling, he sat further back on the couch before letting his hand flop on his leg, getting fed up with the work his boss had sent him home with. Despite it being on a computer, staring at black numbers on a white screen does a toll on the eyes. Closing his eyes, he ran his hands over his face, groaning from the strain his eyes had been put under.

"God, this is boring..." Sighing with a scowl, his hands lowered to rest on the laptop in his lap. Having been sitting there for around an hour, he almost wished he was back in Lillith's office and hiding under the desk. Opening his eyes, the omega gave a hum as the thought of his flash drive came to mind. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulls out the USB Drive and flips it over in his hand, almost cradling it in curiosity. Lillith had been trying to hide something. And if his guess was right (like it always was) then it was worth a little snooping. Granted, he hadn't actually stolen important documents as well as a recording like he just did. But grinning, Jack couldn't help but feel he rather liked it. The whole thing felt powerful; having information that he wasn't supposed to possess. It was almost addicting. But his grin faltered. Did he really want to know what was on the disk? It might be nothing.... Yet it could be important... dangerous.

Giving into his curiosity, the omega saved his work before closing it and popped the USB drive in his laptop, licking his lips, tasting salt from the popcorn he had earlier and waited as the folder popped up. Spotting the recording right away, he moved the curser to hover over the file, pausing his moments, lips tightening. Thinking it better not to let anyone else hear, Jack reached into his computer bag and pulled out his ear buds; quickly connecting them to the pc, he put the buds in his ears before starting the sound.

_"Hey Lillith. August here. Uhhh.... *there was the sound of shuffling* Look. I'm not good at these things. But Ma is getting impatient. She had me write down some codes for ya. Ah... Not sure why you need them or why But here it goes. *Jack hears this August guy clear his throat* Okay."_

_"028-1972._

_019-2001_

_035-2005_

_And 021-1994"_

_Then there was the sound of papers being shuffled and set down._

_"Ma also says to remind T to keep the cyborg out of the whole thing. Apparently Tassiter gave T strict orders that the bot not get involved unless project S goes out of control." There was a sigh. "And ah... I know we were sworn not ta... But you have new orders now that Tassiter is out of the picture. J is next. When his condition is stable, he is to be brought to the lab. Also we need those reports of last weeks testing. We need you to dig them out from where you stashed them. Athena will be right there to bring you over...... Oh, and keep an eye on J. He's a slippery bastard. Smarter than he looks too. Probably just as dangerous. Don't let your guard down."_

Then the line went dead.

Jack was pale as he stared down at the play button of the recorder and his hands shook. What the fuck had he stumbled upon? What was it that his father had planned on doing? T? J? He didn't even want to guess. Those could be anyone. There were a lot of people whose names began with those. But then this, August had mentioned 'Cyborg'. Jack didn't even had to guess that they had meant Rhys. How many people who spoke to Tassiter that had cybernetics? One. The omega's mouth went dry. They wanted Rhys clueless to the whole ordeal? His lips tightened together. If they mentioned his mate, then J must have meant 'John'. And T....

"Timothy..." He breathed, feeling his breath hitch. So his brother was in on whatever was going on. Lowering his head, Jack couldn't help but feel a nagging at the back of his skull. Raising a hand to his face, he groaned. "Damn it, Timothy, what did you do?"

Raising his head, the omega eyed the remaining text files. Clicking the first one, he took a sharp intake of breath. It was password protected? How?! He had copied the little shit on a notebook program! How could it be password protected?! Throwing his hands in the air, he lays back on the arm of the couch, letting his arms fall to his sides, taken aback on the situation he had found himself in.

"Great. Just great." He growled, glaring at the screen. "Those fuckers were talking about me. I need to find out what they're hiding! But what's the password?" His eyes squint in thought as he turned to glare at the wall. "Fucker. Too bad I can't just ask them nicely. It's not like they'll just give me the-" His brows raise, clicking the audio file again, listening to the voice naming off the codes. Was it possible?

Going back to the password protected file, he typed in the first code that was listed off and laughed when it actually opened. "Oh my god, these people are amateurs!" But his laughing stopped when he read what the file held.

__

_Doctor Felix:_

_As much as I dispise this company and position, I could no pass up the money that was being offered to me. With two girls at home, I have no choice but to accept. So to start out this ridiculous and dangerous project, I will say this:_

_We will work on one subject at a time and to keep important information on a need to know basis, I will keep my reports brief._

_Now, I will start with the alphas._

_-Project #398- Alpha male. [Day 1]-_

_The alpha is being prepped for procedure to the iridium injections. As willing a participant as he is, we had to remind him the consequences of what would happen to him should the protect be a failure or should his body reject the injections. Having written a waver, his life is now in our hands. He will undergo a series of tests and the injections will start out small while our staff analyze him from a safe distance. The injections, if our theories are correct, this project should come out a success. Tassiter, the one funding the project, is less than pleased on the specimen._

_Although, I will admit, I have doubts that this will succeed. For these abilities are typically only stable in a woman's body. A male's body is simply unable to harness the power. Yet if we can manage to temporarily and moderately, expose the test subject with the artificial solutions, maybe... just maybe, we can make this work. Wilhelm appears to be extremely excited for his upcoming surgery for the iridium pumps. We will need to install those to safely pump the correct amount of iridium through his body._

_After all, a man his size will need a hood amount. Although if the plan goes south, I fear we would have no way of restraining him._

_\---_

_Subject has become violent after the first injection. We had to trap him in a force field until he had regain his scenes. In his rash and violent behavior, Wilhelm has managed not only to destroy most of our machines needed to purify the iridium, but had managed to disable three doctors and killed twelve of our security I fear what would happen if we continue on._

_-Project #398- Alpha male. [Day 2]-_

_Wilhelm appears to be doing much better today. His body is reacting well to the injections, despite the constant pain in his chest he keeps telling us about. While he had expressed his concern to us in great detail, there is little that can be done about his pain other than keeping a close eye on him. We can not jump at his every beck and call each time he feels a slight amount of pain considering he has a machine attached to his heart. There is bound to be some.......discomfort._

_His strength has improved as well as his appetite. A little unusual but still, expected. He moves faster than he had did when he was originally recruited and even tends to glow under extreme emotion. Other than the glowing and his sudden strength and speed, not much else had changed. Tassiter has brought in his son to examine our test. The lad appears interested but I can see a deep troubled look in his eyes, despite my reassurances._

_\---_

_Wilhelm is ready for the dosage to be increased._

_-Project#398- Alpha Male. [day 3]-_

_Failure. The alpha's heart exploded when we tried to administer a larger dose. It appears that his body was simply unable to withstand the iridium. Back to the drawing board, I suppose. Fear not, we have others to test on. Many are willing while some are.... less so... My notes are brief, for I must move onto the next subject. No use lingering on a dead test subject. Yet I somehow cannot help but feel a bit of pity and guilt. I fear I must be the one to break the news to his family back on Pandora. I can't fathom that they would take it well._

_\---_

_They did not._

_-Project #420- Alpha female. [Day 1]-_

_Nisha has been doing well for her first day and her body has reacted well to the injections. However she has often complained about one of the omega males that we had here. What was his name again? I can not remember but the kid babbles on and on, non-stop. Often the kid responds to "Clap-Trap". For a teenager, the kid is unusually....... chatty..._

_We monitor her heart much like we did with Wilhelm. So far, she is showing no negative signs nor is she reporting any pain in her chest. After the incident with Wilhelm, we have made some adjustments to how we view our patients health._

_-Project #420- Alpha female. [Day 2]-_

_Nisha had to be put down. Showing signs of siren abilities, she screamed and lay on the floor, twitching wildly like she was having a seizure as her body began to glow and emit pulses of power out. Unfortunately, with each pulse of power, our lab was being torn into shambles from her uncontrolled power while her skin was peeling off her body. Unfortunate things happen in the field of science. All in all, this was a bit of a success despite losing our second test subject so close after the first. But we made progress. After all,_

_She had shown power._

_-Project #577- Beta Male. [Day 1] (USE EXTREME CAUTION)_

_Seeing who our beta male subject would be, I couldn't help but feel my heart stop in my chest. It was Tassiter's boy, Timothy. He had signed himself up for the project with such a determination that I had not seen in years. When questioned why he had joined, his mouth shut tighter than a steel door. Whatever his reason was, he was under a legally binding contract. There was no way I can stop this. The chance of failure was too high. There was no possible way that Tassiter knew that his son had signed up for this._

_But as much as I hate to say this, there was nothing we could do but to experiment. Everyone is dancing around like there were shards of glass on the floor. Suddenly the project we had been assigned too was all too dangerous for us. One wrong move and the boy would be killed before our very eyes. We can not fail on this one._

_We can not afford to._

_\---_

_Timothy's body immediately caused him discomfort yet not by much. He reports that his blood felt like it burned a little. This was odd. The other subjects had not reported a burning in their bodies throughout the injections. They had experienced pain and openly expressed it. Yet while Timothy claimed his blood felt a little like fire, he appeared unnaturally calm and happy._

_"It feels like I'm greeting an old friend." He had said._

_This statement was odd. We will need to keep a closer eye on him._

_-Project #577- Beta Male. [Day 10] (USE EXTREME CAUTION)_

_Due to Timothy's unnatural reaction to the injections, it was agreed upon that we take these injections slow. For the past few days, we had him doing minor tests and simple injections before and after going to bed. As predicted, Tassiter had been furious but even he knew that it was pointless to even try and remove the boy from the experiment. The lack of iridium in his body could possibly kill him at this point._

_\---_

_It was like an addiction. Timothy had shown signs of iridium addiction; something we had thought we had been careful about preventing. It was easy for one to get addicted to the mineral. This is troubling. Not only will we have to pause the experiment, we will have to slowly rehabilitate him without removing the iridium._

_\---_

_It has been hours since my last report. Timothy has gone mad. When we had attempted to break him of the iridium, he became furious. Next thing I can recall, his body was littered with glowing tattoos, his eyes shining a bright purple as purple faded wings appeared behind his back. It had worked! Our experiment had worked! But at what price? Looking around now, I am the only one alive.. I need to report this to Valarie. To Tassiter._

_God.. Someone._

Slamming the laptop lid closed, Jack felt his hands tighten around his computer.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT, TIMOTHY!!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it took a while and I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have been pretty sick lately and just got better a couple days ago. Then I went to spend a few days at my grandparents. So.... yeah. Haha! Anyway. Here's the chapter. Trying to lighten the story up a little bit.

With his legs curled underneath himself, Jack held his arms crossed in front of his chest, glaring at where he had shoved his laptop on the other side of the couch. Unsure of what he was supposed to feel or think, the omega had ended up slamming the lid on his laptop down, unable to look at anymore of the files in his disgust. Pinching his brows together in thought, he sighed and let his head drop. How long had this been going on? There were no dates so he had no clue on how long ago the testing had been. Should he feel betrayed? Timothy was the closest person to a friend Jack could even call, despite being brothers. To find out something as big as this about someone you grew up and knew; his own brother... Jack didn't know what to think.

Falling on his side, he pressed his face to the couch cushions and gave a satisfied hum. It smelled like Rhys. The omega gave a little purr and nuzzled the cushions and dug his fingers in the fabric. His alpha always smelled nice. He'd never admit it to the younger male's face, in risk of the kid getting a big head. Speaking of Rhys, he missed his alpha. Face twisting in a mixture of irritation and loneliness as he pulled out his phone to check the time. Where was the alpha? Why wasn't he here to shower the omega in kisses and adoration?

7:55 pm. The kid was never away from him this long after work? Maybe he got held up. Jack shook his head at the thought. No. Hyperion never had their employees stay late, in fear of having to pay the workers more. Hyperion practically kicked you out of the building if you were there even fifteen minutes late to leave. Sitting up, the omega looked at his phone again. Considering if he should call his mate to find out where he was, he didn't have to decide long when his phone began to vibrate and the familiar ringtone sounded from the machine with his mate's name and number popping on the screen. Relaxing, he felt his unease and worry ebb away only to be replaced with anger. Answering the phone, he held it to his ear.

"Rhys, where the hell are you?!" Jack growled, hand clinching the phone in his hand. But the sound of sniffing and choked up sobbing from his mate caught him off guard and his anger slowly began to morph into concern. "Rhys?.... Are you crying?"

 

\---

 

After he had been dropped off at his apartment, Rhys lost it. Curling on himself, he sat there on the sidewalk in a little ball, sobbing in his knees. Having lost his dream job and being accused of murder in the same hour took his toll on his mind and he couldn't stop the tears from falling even if he wanted them to. How was he going to explain this to Jack? How was he going to feed his mate and care for a baby with no job? They hadn't even gotten a proper house yet and already he had lost his job, even though it was technically a suspension.

So engrossed in his sobbing, Rhys didn't hear the door opening nor did he hear the footsteps behind him draw beside him.

"Rhys?" Vaughn voiced worriedly, sitting beside the alpha, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder. Not getting a reaction, the smaller alpha glanced around, spotting a few people occasionally glance their way. Clearing his throat, he hauled Rhys to his feet. "Come on, bro. Lets go inside. I feel like you have a lot to get off your chest."

Rhys allowed Vaughn to drag him indoors to their apartment. Much like his tears, he couldn't stop it from happening. In fact he was rather pleased that his bro was the one moving him instead of his other friends. Vaughn had seen him at his worst and his best and took it all in stride. He'd rather be with Vaughn instead of Jack right now. As much as he loved his mate, he didn't want his pregnant lover to see him like this. And now with no job, he wasn't sure if he could show his face around his mate again.

Now here he was, sitting on the couch, hugging Vaughn like a life line and spilling his heart out everything. Of course the smaller alpha just took it in stride, rubbing Rhys' back and holding his bro close. By the time Rhys had managed to calm himself down, it had been a few hours. With a tissue clenched tightly in his metal arm, Rhys wiped the tears from his face.

"So. Does Jack know you're here?" Vaughn asked, in the kitchen, grabbing a few glasses of water before returning and handing Rhys one, who guzzled it down. Shaking his head, the taller alpha confirmed no. "Why not?"

"Well, what am I supposed to tell him, Vaughn?" Rhys whines, flailing his arms before grabbing a couch cushion and burrowing his face in it. "I can't face him and tell him I lost my job. Even if it was suspension. He'll be furious." Then he pulled his face away from the pillow to give Vaughn puppy eyes, sniffing from crying earlier. "Can I just stay here and die?"

"And leave your pregnant mate in my care?" Vaughn questions with a raised brow before shaking his head, returning to the kitchen to grab a beer then returning, drinking one of the two bottles he had grabbed. "Jack's scary enough just being near him. I'd never be able to survive around the guy. Beer?" He holds the bottle to Rhys.

Rhys sighs, shaking his head, raising a hand to deny the drink. "No thanks, bro. As much as I want it, I have to drive to Jack's home. You're right." He rubs a tear from one of his eyes and reaching for his phone in his pocket. "Jack deserves to know about.... Oh god..." Finally spotting the time, he groans loudly relaxing his head back in exasperation.

Looking concerned, Vaughn sits on the couch beside the taller alpha, looking at the phone and looking confused when he didn't spot anything out of place. "What is it, bro? Forget to change your number or something?" He asks, eyeing Rhys with an arched brow.

"No, no. I never texted Jack. He's probably going to freak."

"Or assume that you left him to raise the baby alone." Vaughn sputters at the dirty look Rhys sent him and he waved his hands in surrender. "It's happened before, bro! Not by you but you know.... It happens...." Shutting up, Vaughn decided it would be smarter to sip his beer in silence.

Mentally thanking the smaller alpha for not adding more to the comment, Rhys tapped his phone screen with shaky fingers, thumb hovering over the call button on Jack's number. He really should tell the omega what happened. But what would he do? It's not like the alpha knew his mate's every move. Jack was unpredictable and easily angered. Rhys gave a weak smile. Jack was more handsome when he was pissed. He had this murderous air to him. Shaking to clear his head, Rhys took a deep breath, trying to quiet his frantically beating heart and pushed the call button, raising the phone to his head.

He didn't have to wait long.

 _"Rhys, where the hell are you?!"_ Oh god Jack sounded pissed. Rhys took a deep breath nervously before exhaling. Sniffing, he opened his mouth to respond when a soft sob escaped his mouth. It was like he was a child about to be scolded by his parent for something that wasn't his fault. When Jack piped in at his sobbing, sounding oddly soft and concerned. Something the omega NEVER sounded like. But to Rhys' ears, it sounded like an angel whispering. _"Rhys?.... Are you crying?"_

That was what caused the damn to break. "I..." He sobbed, clenching his eyes shut tightly. "I lost my job." Giving into his anxiety and depression, he babbled the days events to his mate over the phone. Jack hadn't said a word during the entire word vomit the alpha had uttered, remaining ominously silent. Vaughn had long since gone to his room to either play video games or fiddle with his computer to give Rhys and Jack privacy; even if it was over the phone. Eventually the alpha had ran out of things to say and ended up as a sobbing mess on the couch, mind barely registering Jack's words.

 _"Rhys, baby, listen. You listening?"_ Rhys nodded, feeling calmer at Jack's soft tone on the other line before remembering that the omega couldn't see his nod.

"Y-yes, Jack.. I'm-" He sniffs again, rubbing the tears and snot that escaped him on his sleeve. "I'm listening."

 _"Good. You able to drive? If so, get over here, Baby Doll. It'll be alright. Come home."_ Home... Rhys smiled. Yes, anywhere Jack was; it was home to Rhys too.

\---

Nothing really happened when Rhys got there. In fact, he had barely time to breathe when Jack had enveloped the alpha in his arms and dragged him to the couch.

Which is how he found himself straddling the omega's lap in a tight cuddle at 1:30 in the morning. It felt a little weird to be the one being held and cuddled against a toned chest. But it felt nice. Tears long gone and staining his face, Rhys smiled and nuzzled his face in Jack's shirt, hearing the older man chuckling above him. Blushing, he glanced up to see the omega looking down and watching him.

"Feeling comfy, baby doll?" The omega asked, the arm wrapped around Rhys' waist rubbing his back while the other tightened around his waist.

Blushing harder, the alpha smiled softly. "Yes, actually. Thanks." chuckling, he straightened his back, meeting the omega eye to eye. "You are surprisingly buff." Jack scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"What, did you think I just sat around for your lazy ass to try and court me? I'd be nothing but skin and bones, cupcake. Nothing but flab." With a smirk, he wiggled his brows at Rhys. "Or do you like flab?" At Rhys' blush and shameful glance away, Jack found himself howling in laughter. "Oh my god! You do!"

"C-can we not talk about this?"

"No-no! I want to hear this! You like the flab? Like seriously?!" The omega was nothing but amusement at this point. Practically falling on his side, Jack fought to keep himself upright as to not topple over with his alpha in his lap. It was already hard to keep the kid in his lap with the baby bump but falling off the couch was all too easy.

Rhys let out a loud, agonizing groan and shoved his face in Jack's neck. "Please, no! Just stop!"

"Alright, alright." Finding that he was reaching his alpha's limit for now, he chuckled to himself, filing the bit of information away. Pushing his face in Rhys' neck and inhaling his sweet scent, he continued. "I'll stop pestering you. But this isn't over."

"Thank you..." Rhys gave a sigh of relief as he pulled his face from his omega's neck. Pulling away long enough to rub his hand on Jack's stomach, he smiled. "How's the baby doing?"

Giving a grunt, Jack allowed Rhys to rub his stomach. "Kid's fine. Finally got over morning sickness, so that's a plus." Then glaring at the alpha in his lap, he slapped Rhys' ass, making the alpha yelp. "By the way, my forced appointment is next week-Thanks so much for that- so I guess we'll find out the gender."

Rubbing his now sore behind, Rhys pouted down at his mate. "It's not forced. You agreed to it." He grunted. "Besides, I want you both healthy. Would you rather the baby be sick or worse?"

"Kid, I would rather the kid be playing poker or smoking when it got out of there. I just hate the appointments. All that poking and prodding." Jack replied with a groan, making a distasteful face at the thought. It was obvious how much the omega hated his appointments that Rhys made him go to. The omega was in no way compliant to all the tests or shots that were given to him. It seemed like the man made it his life goal to be difficult, much to Rhys' expense. Even going to far as to throw a doctor out the window. They were on the ground floor and the doctor landed on some hedges, so the doctor was fine, but they had to appoint another doctor as the man refused to treat or examine Jack again.

"I know." Rhys cooed, running a hand over Jack's belly again. "But it won't be forever. Just a little while longer. Then you never have to go to them ever again." He tried to reason but only earning a coy glare from his older mate.

"Don't try that on me cupcake. I'm three months in. I have another six more to go." Rhys shut his mouth with a sigh, leaning forward to rest his head on Jack's shoulder. Feeling the omega begin to rub his back lightly, the alpha was ready to fall asleep any minute when he felt Jack's body rumble and jerk as the man laughed to himself. Curious, Rhys pulled away to eye his mate.

"What's so funny?" he frowned, biting his lip in his curious state. The amused look in Jack's eye was the only warning he got.

"Hey, Rhysie. Call me Luxury. Because you're in my lap."

"No!!" Rhys cried out in horror, getting ready to jump out of Jack's lap when the omega held tightly to him. "Jack, no! I can not handle this!"

"Hey, it's not like I can stand for this either. Why do you think I'm sitting."

"GAH! You're impossible, you know that!?"

"Impossible? I thought my name was Jack?"

"And here starts the dad jokes! Let me go! You're jokes are unbearable!"

"Maybe they would be good if I had a cub sandwich."

"Send help! PLEASE!!"

\---

Eventually Jack had let Rhys go. Fortunately, the second he got free, the alpha had ran and hid somewhere in the house to avoid Jack's jokes. Losing his smirk, Jack sneered as he picked up his phone and grabbed his jacket as he left the house. Sliding his jacket on, he sat on the steps of his porch and holding out his phone, typed in the numbers he had memorized. 

"Suspend him? Got some balls, Timmy." He muttered to himself and raised the phone to his ear, forcing a smile when the person on the other side.

"Well, hi there Timmy. Yeah, it's me, Jack, the brother you left behind on your way to fame. Yeah, we have a lot to talk about." Then letting his voice go deep with a warning in his tone. "Like why the fuck you dared to hurt my mate."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU KNOW WHAT?! I LIED! I CHANGED MY MIND! THERE WILL BE A COUPLE MORE CHAPTERS! But we are getting closer to the ending of this story.
> 
> So what better way to start this chapter off than some couple bonding?

It had been raining that morning when Jack woke up and dressed. And it was still raining when he had gotten his mug of tea. Having been banned from coffee by Rhys through his pregnancy, he had tried to adapt to a new taste...... not that it was working. Tea sucked. The omega hated it with a passion but it shut Rhys up for around a couple minutes when the older male sipped it.

Giving a content sigh as he took a sip from the disgusting drink he was forcing himself to consume, the omega leaned against the counter, elbows propping him up on the cold tile as he lost himself in thought. Three months. Three months and all that has been happening were nothing but bad news. Rhys lost his job, Jack found out his brother was a lab experiment, his dad was dead.

Jack let out a pleased moan. His dad was dead. Wonderful. Yet despite that, the older omega couldn't help but feel something creep in his body. An unneeded want that he had never desired before. The feeling dug it's claws into him and would not let him go. The mere thought made Jack grip the mug painfully hard; enough to form a crack or two.

When had the last time been that he had actually spent time with Rhys? Oh god, not since they first started dating. He slammed his cup down in realization and he sneered at his hands, baring his teeth as he released a small angry growl. Fuck, wasn't this supposed to be an enjoyable time in their relationship? Most couples were still cooing and cuddling at each other, giving gifts to show their....... love..... The word felt like poison in his mouth.

But yet, despite it all, Jack and Rhys were far from an ordinary couple. That had been fine! They had been fine! Looking for a house, dealing with Rhys' recent lack of job, them having to rely on Jack's shit pay as well as the money the alpha had been saving up; which, granted, it was a lot but it would be strained for a new house and a _BABY_ at the same time.

Even the brat Jack was bearing seemed almost nonexistent. If it hadn't been for the constant fluttering and the slight pouch on his stomach, the omega might have forgotten he was pregnant. It felt, weird. Foreign. Something Jack hated. Constantly being treated like glass was something he had worked his reputation so hard to avoid being. Yet here he was. More crack appeared in the mug in his anger. Damn Rhys for making him...... love........ the stupid dork. Fuck his cybernetics and mechanical eye! Fuck Rhys for being so damn good in bed, being patient with the omega.... trying to care for him like an equal....

Giving a sigh, the omega leaned his forehead against the counter, enjoying the coolness of the flat surface. Damn... He was in deep... Lifting his head, he hummed, running a finger along the top of the mug. Maybe some bonding with his mate was needed. Rhys had needed him to be strong since everything went to shit on the poor alpha. Timothy could wait a few more days. Jack wasn't even mad that he never got a call back from his brother.

Right now, he wanted to help Rhys. Maybe he should arrange a get together with Rhys' friends? Cheer the pipsqueak up a bit in a way that Jack never could. They could actually show honest affection; something the omega lacked. He was never good at romance or feeling. His grandmother made sure of that, growing up.

Lifting his head the second he heard the floor give a small squeak, he smirked, looking behind him to see Rhys standing outside the kitchen; in the hallway. The alpha yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he blinked in an effort to wake up completely while standing in his dinosaur pajamas. The sight almost had Jack laughing; yet the omega bit back his humor before lifting his mug.

"Morning, Pumpkin. Sleep well?" the omega questioned. It was funny how alert the kid got before the omega's eyes just as he spoke. Shuffling on his feet, Rhys hummed and looked down shyly, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his messy hair.

"I um..... Good, thanks... Thanks for.... holding me... last night." Rhys blushed, increasing Jack's amusement. God,this kid acted so innocent. "It was nice." Then the alpha gave a small smile, finally looking the omega in the eyes, making Jack's heart practically freeze in his chest. 

Clearing his throat, the omega pushed away from the counter and stepped up to his mate, keeping the mug away from the young alpha so he didn't spill it on the noodle before bending over and kissing Rhys, surprising the cyborg.

"Glad to hear it, cupcake. How about this; I don't work today. How about we just stay inside today? Catch a movie? Maybe even ring up your friends?" He shrugged carelessly as he sauntered in the living room, noticing the pitter pattering of rain on the windows before plopping down, cross-legged on the couch; taking a tip of his tea, grimacing at the taste before looking up, spotting Rhys standing there, looking surprised.

"What?" Jack snipped, giving a soft glare at the alpha.

Apparently thinking this was encouragement, Rhys stepped to the couch his mate sat on; a small hop in his step as he barely managed to hide his excitement. The grin on the alpha's face was wide and bright just like the blush on the kid's face. Shaking in his joy, Rhys took a deep breath.

"Y-you actually want to spend time with me?"

"Uh, duh. Is that so surprising, Rhysie?" Lifting his mug, he sipped the liquid again, pausing in shock with the next line the alpha spoke. Rhys had never looked so vulnerable as he did now with his body slumped over a little and head turned to stared at the floor shyly.

"You.... never really... gave any interest of wanting to spend time with me..."

Lowering his mug, Jack clenched his teeth shut. It was like a stab in his chest. What made it worse was that what his mate said was true. The omega had been more focused on not being treated like other omegas, fought to keep himself strong an independent that he completely closed Rhys out of his life. For three fucking months, he had been thinking about himself and very little about his mate. What was one supposed to say to things like this? The omega wasn't ever sure he ever apologized to anyone since the abu- since he lived with his grandmother. Lips thinning, Jack lowered the cup to the coffee table and reached out, grabbing the alpha and pulling the lanky male to him, feeling Rhys stiffen for a moment before the alpha snuggled against the omega.

"Sorry kid... I'm just new to this whole, relationship, shit. I'm trying." Rhys hummed in response. "I'm serious, kid, I honestly am trying." Frowning, he placed his chin on Rhys' head, doing what he could to keep his expression blank. "I have no experience at this and even saying this is fucking hard, kiddo. Just, be patient with me. I'll get it figured out."

Rhys had shifted in his arms, one blue eye and one brown eye peered up at his mate from where his face had been burred in the omega's chest. Almost as if he was gauging whether or not Jack had been serious, was a secret that only Rhys knew. Yet before the omega could question it, the alpha had Jack pinned on the couch cushions with a soft laugh, his hands holding the omega's wrists above the older male's head.

"That's all you really can do, Jack." Then the alpha bent down and kissed Jack on the lips lovingly, making the omega smirk before pulling away. "And thank you for trying. I know we have a lot we still need to know about each other. And it won't be easy. But I'd like to hear your story some day."

"Ah, kid. My story's nothing important." Jack chuckled, shrugging as he played it cool, yet inwardly, he was screaming in his head. "Don't really have anything important to mention."

Rhys stared down at the omega, giving him a look that stated he clearly wasn't fooled by the answer he was given. Adjusting himself so he was further from Jack's stomach, he removed a hand from the omega's wrist to place on the side of his mate's head.

"Jack, you scream and thrash in your sleep. Don't think I don't know about it. You have a story, one that I would like to know about." The alpha huffed, looking away with a pout. "Look, I'm not going to force you to speak of it right now. But it.... would help if you shared it with me... Let me lighten the load?"

Jack chuckled. "You have enough of your own load to deal with, you don't need any of mine."

Meeting Jack's eyes, Rhys' brows shot up in exasperation. "Yet here you are, sharing the load of both of us. Damn it Jack, you're pregnant, you need to let me help you! Please." Bending over his surprised mate, he took care not to squish the small bump on Jack's stomach as he peppered light kissed on the omega's face and lips. "Let me... help you. Please...I'm your bond mate... please...."

Giving a hum, the omega fought to keep himself from kissing back. Yet the taste of his alpha was too enticing and he couldn't help himself from returning a few kisses of his own. Yet after a while of temptation, he turned his head away with a grumble, ignoring Rhys' smug look.

"I'll try. I make no promises." The omega quipped, fighting the blush from his face at the fact he had given in after a few kisses. Feeling a kiss on his neck, he moaned in surprise at a few shocks went down his body. "K-kid? K-kiddo? What are you up to?"

Chuckling, Rhys sat up, smirking down at the omega. "Enjoying the view." then the alpha laughed when he got a reply as Jack turned to glare up at him. The older male's sneer turned into a smirk as his eyes looked Rhys up and down. "Oh yeah? So am I? Cute pajamas. Hyperion issued?"

Rhys huffed, giving a pout as he blushed at the comment. "If you must know, yes they are." Then his eyes raised as he noticed the rain hitting the window. "Huh... How have I not heard that?"

The grin on Jack's face caused the alpha to inwardly curse himself at giving Jack the bait.

"Hate to rain on you parade, Pumpkin. But it's been like that all morning."

"Jack." Rhys warned, stiffly.

"I don't mean to pour it on so thick but it apparently hadn't soaked in that sponge you call a brain."

"Jack, I'm warning you."

"Don't get gloomy on me, Rhys. You can weather my jokes."

"Jack, no."

"Jack, yes."

\---

It had rained for around two hours after that. Rhys was, for once, extremely pleased that he didn't have to do any sort of work for that morning. Normally he'd be house hunting on his laptop and Jack would be off doing his own thing. But sitting on the couch, watching cheesy morning cartoons while wrapping themselves together in one giant blanket burrito has to be one of the best things they had done together in months. Despite Jack chiming in with one of his bad jokes and Rhys snuggling against the omega to put his scent all over Jack, the morning felt like heaven. Eventually, the sun had come out after four movies, they fell asleep after the fourth, Rhys had taken what his mate had said to mind.

"I want to see Fiona's baby?" Rhys had pipped up, making Jack raise an eyebrow with his alpha wrapped in his arms in the blanket burrito.

"Baby? I don't think she's had it yet, squirt. She's two months ahead of me.... maybe three? She's got to be six months along at least." Hummed Jack, resting his head on top of Rhys', closing his eyes softly as he relaxed against the alpha. The younger man chuckled, pulling himself out of the comfort of the blanket burrito and ignoring Jack growling in annoyance at the lack of heat and his mate, in order to grab his phone from his room.

"I know," The alpha stated, returning to the living room and climbing back into the blanket, making Jack purr and wrap the lanky man in his arms once more. "But she has a new ultrasound and I really want to see it...." Then the alpha gasped, making Jack glance at him in confusion. "We don't have an ultrasound! Jack!" The alpha spun in Jack's arms, grabbing the omega's shoulders in his hands, looking horrified. "We need to get ultrasounds!!"

"PFFT!!" Jack covered his mouth with a hand to keep himself from laughing in his mate's face then and there. Instead, he calmly yet forcefully pried Rhys' hands from his shoulders to kiss the alpha's knuckles, ignoring the metal taste he got in his mouth after kissing the metal hand. "Rhys. Did you forget my appointment next week?" Rhys froze, blinking in surprise before smacking his own face with his real hand.

"I'm an idiot!" The alpha exclaimed, slowly sliding out of the blanket again. "I forgot about that!"

"You're not an idiot, cupcake. Little slow, but not an idiot."

"Ouch, my pride." Rhys stated, deadpanned. "How will I ever recover?" Jack rolled his eyes, poking the phone in Rhys' hands.

"How about calling Fifi?"

"Fiona." Rhys corrected but did flip on his phone and texted the woman, fingers flying across the touch screen before his arms flopped to the floor. "Done."

"And that weirdly buff friend of yours? Hank? We should totally visit that shorty."

"You mean Vaughn? Oh yeah! Deffiantly! It's been a while since I spoke to my bro!"

"It's been nine hours, Rhys."

"DONE!"


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not much. But I wanted a light hearted chapter. After the....... thing happened. I can't say that I am completely emotionally healed. It was... pretty bad. But I am getting better.... Anyway, here's the next chapter! :)

"You know what we need, Rhys?" Jack started, pausing for effect as he looked down at Rhys on the floor. The alpha had been propped up on a couple couch pillows and was reading a book. After his and Jack's talk, they had faded into comfortable silence...

...until now.

"A strap on." the omega finished, giving Rhys his traditional "jazz hands" which were more of a way to announce a permanent decision rather than an actual Jazz hands gesture. "Think about it."

"Oh my god, Jack!" Rhys exclaimed, exasperated and threw his book in the air, flopping his hands by his head as he closed his eyes and groaned, running one hand over his face and rubbing his closed eyes. "I'm not buying a strap on! I don't need that on my bank statements."

The omega shrugged, rolling onto his side and plucked a string that was sticking off the cushions that he lay on. "Seriously, Rhys? Come on. I want to be on top. And since I lack a dick...." He trailed off, giving Rhys a brow wiggle. 

The alpha gave another groan and pointed an accusing finger at his mate. "No. I'm not having that show up on my bank statements when I go to do my taxes."

"So get bluebird. It's a wonderful thing."

"Jack, I am not having this conversation with you. Please just let this go."

"Hey, it's not a bank, Sweetheart."

"No."

"Rhys! I want to top for once. As much as I love you boning me, I want a turn."

"Oh my god, Jack!"

"Rhys..." There was a warning growl in Jack's tone; irritation and annoyance clear on his face. "Out of all the things I ask-or rather, don't ask- you would deny me what it means to be the man in a relationship?" Then there came the pout. The forced and ridiculous looking pout that didn't fit the omega's handsome face.

......It was fucking adorable. Giving a growl, Rhys covered his face with a pillow to avoid looking at the older male.

"I said 'no' and that's final!"

\---

"You want me to buy what?" Yvette questioned from where she sat in her chair. Not long after his conversation with Jack, Rhys had found himself going to his other best friend while the omega took his nap; pregnancy making him a tad more tired than normal despite being early in it. Eyeing her friend, she held her cup of tea tightly in her hand, trying to keep her face neutral and not give away the gut renching laugh she was clearly trying to hold in at Rhys' predicament.

Rhys bend to rest his elbows on his knees as he groaned in agony, rubbing his face, his own drink sat on the table in front of him, untouched. "A strap on.... Please Yvette." Then he let his arms drop. "Jack is begging for it."

The female alpha hummed and sipped her drink, closing her eyes during the gesture before smirking, eyeing the male up and down. "Is it because of your bank?"

"Oh my god." Giving another loud groan of agony, he pressed his face in his hands, already feeling his face heat up from the conversation.

"Because you know, you can get bluebird." She continued, setting her drink down to the side and pulled her TV table that her computer sat on. "It's not a bank so no statements."

"Please, can you NOT?!" Rhys exclaimed loudly, hands extended in exasperation to the female. "I've already had this conversation with Jack. You are literally repeating him!"

Yvette hummed in amusement, lips thinning in a feeble attempt at hiding it. "But he is right. What's stopping you?"

The male scoffed and waved his hand in the air as if dismissing a fly then leaned back in his seat, relaxing heavily in the chair. "Because I don't know what to look for or what I would be doing-"

"And you think I would?" Yvette interrupted, raising an eyebrow casually. Rhys instantly shut up and looked over at her sharply with wide eyes, as if caught making a horrible mistake. The soft blush fading the male's cheeks made the entire awkward conversation worth it and she laughed, typing up her website of choice for shopping. "Alright. I will call in some favors and see what I can do."

Rhys let out the breath of air that he hadn't realized he was holding, in relief. "Thank you Yvette." He smiled. "I owe you one."

"Yes." She confirmed smugly. "You do."

\---

After the very, very awkward conversation with Yvette and multiple promises of free lunches of her choice, Rhys had left her appartment and had been currently walking to the baby store he had heard about from Fiona when he suddenly found himself flat on his back and winded with an angry alpha woman hovering over him.

"Rhys!" Sasha growled loudly, standing and yanking the taller alpha to his feet and shaking him despite his dazed expression. "Where have you been?! How come I never heard of you bonding?! Why wasn't I told that you were going to be a dad?!" Then she pushed him away, Causing Rhys to hid the wall of the building nearby, weakly but still making him grunt.

"I mean, what the fuck, Rhys!" She crossed her arms. "I thought we were friends!"

Unsure on how to respond, Rhys wanted to comment on how they are friends when Sasha suddenly sighed, looking deflated. "I'm sorry..." She looked up at him. "Can we talk....? Privately?"

\---

It had been a couple days since the conversation with Rhys had transpired. Honestly, Jack had only been joking with his pretty, little alpha; trying to get a rise out of the younger male. And yet, while he'd love to top the younger man in bed for a change, the omega could genuinely say that he hadn't expected the alpha to actually follow through and BUY a strap-on for Jack. Imagine the older male's surprise when he walked into the room they shared after a shower to see the device sitting on the bed with a hastily written note by a very flustered alpha. Yet what was Rhys's reward for his generosity for his pregnant mate? Endless amounts of teasing. Really, the omega couldn't resist.

Which, much to Rhys' horror, is how the alpha found the omega, standing outside the cafe shop that Rhys and Sasha were currently in, standing in front of the window, staring right at them, strap-on in his hands and with the biggest Cheshire cat grin imaginable, ignoring the looks, whispers, and giggles from people passing nearby.

"E-Excuse me." Rhys quickly stammered to Sasha as he ran outside, doing his best to keep the red from his face and brushing off the confused expression that she had sent his way. The confusion on her face didn't last long when she spotted Jack and what he was holding. Realizing what was going on, she turned away from the window and bit her finger to keep from laughing.

"Have you no shame?" Rhys hissed the second he got outside to his mate, grabbing the older man's arm, intending to lead him away from the area and the people in it.

Letting himself be led, Jack scoffed playfully, ever the grin on his face.

"Rhysie, Baby. You know I don't" He chimed, pulling his arm out of the alpha's grip to wrap it tightly around Rhys' shoulders and bent close to his ear to whisper darkly and seductively.

"So. Did you remember the lube?"

Entire head now completely red, Rhys pushed Jack away; using extra care not to shove the omega's slowly growing stomach.

"Oh my god, Jack!" The alpha exclaimed, looking around at the many bystanders that were watching in fascination at the couple. He shifted nervously, feeling very uncomfortable at all the attention that they were getting.

Giving an unperturbed shrug, Jack smirked once more at his slightly smaller lover, knowing that the alpha was annoyed at his lopsided smirk, no matter how easygoing it was.

"What?" He purred, crossing his arms behind his back; the gesture was slightly awkward because of the strap-on that he still held in his hands. "I'm an omega. It's expected."

"Expected by who?" Gripped the alpha bitterly, looking back at Jack with stiff shoulders and slumped back. "And since when did you start caring about what was expected?"

There was a sudden dark look that passed over Jack's features that made the alpha think of a pissed off predator, which in turn, made him regret asking that. Shivering, he forced himself to hold his gaze on the omega.

"Since I got pregnant, Ding Dong..... Also, society, to answer your first question." The omega's hold on the strap-on tightened; hand shaking with effort. Closing his eyes, Jack sighed. "Fucking hate people, Princess. So fucking much."

"I'm a people too." Rhys pointed out, stepping face to face with the angered omega, his own anger and embarrassment soon fading into concern for his pregnant mate. He had a feeling that something bad had happened, otherwise, Jack wouldn't have gotten so pissed over something so small. "Do you hate me too?"

The question seemed to have thrown Jack off and his eyes flew open in shock. "NO! I...." the omega stumbled for an answer, sighing once more, closing his eyes again for a moment before reopening them. "You're different. You're MY person. You're not people."

"Oooookay?" Rhys honestly had no idea what to say to that response.

"Look!" Jack growled, sounding annoyed. This was enough to let Rhys know that something indeed had happened that Jack wasn't very happy with. "A lot has happened today and I'm a tad stressed. Not mad at you, cupcake."

Rhys crossed his arms, not believing that excuse for a moment. Raising a brow that told Jack as much, the alpha watched the omega struggle not to snap and deflated a little.

"Only a little?" Rhys questioned huffily. "No. If you're stressed, your whole body goes stiff and you walk like you have a stick up your ass. Nice try." the alpha smiled comfortingly, reaching out to grab the omega's arm. "Want to talk about it? You'll feel better. Did something happen that I should know about?"

"Whooo-boy, you have no idea Rhysie." Jack snorted, still looking absolutely pissed off but less stiff than when he had been earlier. "Lets talk at home. I want to get out of all this natural light. Three hours in it and I'm done. Next time you decide to hang out with a friend, make it closer to home. Took me a while to hunt your ass down."

Rhys gave a snort at that as Jack tugged him to the car Rhys had driven. The omega must have found him based on the car a few blocks away, sitting at Yvette house. "Oh I will be sure to do just that." He confirmed jokingly, earning a smirk from Jack.

"Good to hear, pumpkin. Just what I want." Then the omega suddenly stopped, looking back at the omega. "Oh yeah. Before I forget." Dropping Rhys' hand, Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a small grayed picture. Jaw dropping, the alpha took it, tenderly holding it in his hands, eyes glued to the image. "Doc says it might be a girl but they won't know for sure for another couple months."

"A-a girl?" Rhys babbled softly, lost in the image in his hands. It was just a speck but it was proof enough for Rhys that there was a baby on the way. It almost seemed as if the fact of the baby was suddenly hitting him just based on the picture. Big dopy grin on his face, he didn't resist as Jack snorted and pushed the alpha to the car.

"Yeah. Soak it in, Rhys. Better now than later. You have to drive, pumpkin. So get it out of your system."


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rhys puts his foot in his mouth and some feelings are shown. Angst happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hi there! Another chapter. I found the stories easier to write when I actually write them on paper (like I used to) before writing them on the pc. Huh. Go figure. ;) Also, thank you all for the kind words and support. I really appreciate it. It made me feel a little better.

It had been a month since Jack had embarrassed Rhys with bringing the strap-on out into public. He really should have expected something like that when it came to his mate. It had also been a month since his talk with Sasha in the cafe. Not able to complete their talk due to the omega showing up, unannounced and dragging the male alpha away along with the surprise in the form of an ultrasound; Rhys had put the picture in his wallet the second he wrapped his head around the fact that he was really going to be a father. True to his word, Jack did try to improve in the relationship, half the time it ended up awkwardly patting each other's backs or clacking teeth each time they kissed. Fortunately at the end of the day, they ended up satisfied in each others arms.

Living on Jack's paycheck was difficult. With the overcharged bills the pair had to pay, it was hard to save up any of the money as well as pay off the bills. If it hadn't been for Rhys' friends sending them money, they might have had to start using Rhys' savings for the house they had eventually picked out. All they were waiting now were for the paperwork to get ready for signing.

Unfortunately, along with the struggle with money, Jack had become tense and quick to anger. It was just his luck that his mate was able to hold that anger back; going so far to hit the wall on the opposite side of the room rather than at Rhys. No arguments have been made yet; the two felt as if it wasn't worth screaming at each other about. However, any fool could tell that the piece was bound to break. Jack would eventually lose his temper, there was no doubt about it. But the question of when and where remained.

Rhys didn't have to wait long. Leaving the house he and his omega shared, the alpha was instantly greeted by Gortys and LB, standing side-by-side, Gortys nervously wringing her hands as she bounced from one foot to the other. The strange reaction from the normally happy and cheerful small woman sent a chill down his spine.

Nearly dropping his keys, he frowned, grabbing her gently with shaking hands. “Gortys?... Gortys? What happened?” 

Somehow, he knew. He just knew something like this would happened eventually.

“Jack....” She squeaked softly, avoiding his gaze to look back up at LB; whom nodded for her to continue, face blank as always.

“Jack was arrested...”

That was all he needed to hop in the car.

 

Jack shouldn't have left the house.

Eye stinging with salty tears from the cold wind outside hitting his face earlier, he kept the eye closed. Finding he'd rather be half blind than dare take his cold hands from his pockets to keep them warm despite where he now resided. The temperature had dropped drastically overnight and he wasn't keen on freezing. Sighing, Jack lowered his head.

He shouldn't have left the office for lunch that day.

Now here he sat in jail, having been arrested for assaulting three alphas who dared to try an claim him as their own, somehow finding Jack an easy pray only to be proven wrong.

“Should have left it to your alpha,” The police had said when they placed him in his cell, looking oddly pleased with herself. “It wouldn't have been illegal then.... Or a problem.” Right... That was a bitter reminder to him that he was nothing but an item to his alpha in society's eyes. A prize for an alpha to own and command. No surprise there. In truth, he would have been shocked to actually get away with sending the alphas to the ER for internal bleeding and damages to their organs with how hard he hit them, repeatedly. Sadly, the small leeway his pregnancy could grant him went only so far. Luckily, while he was unable to avoid imprisonment, his condition did grant Jack his own cell with a comfortable bed AND a thin sheet.

'I'm so lucky.' Jack had mentally commented with a bored sigh and an eye roll as he looked over at the guard that sat at a desk nearby, watching a game of football on her tiny television. Jack, in a strange way, wish he could watch it too. The cell he found himself lacked any form of entertainment and he was bored. He had resorted to counting the bricks on the wall on the other side of the room. Humming, he clicked his tongue in thought. He probably should call Rhys for his bail. But knowing his younger mate, he would end up spending what small amount of time he had to speak to him on the alpha's ranting and scolding. No. He needed a more...sensitive approach. But who to call?

Relaxing back to lay on the bed with his arms propped behind his head, he thought about all of Rhys' friends that he had seen over the past few months. One person came to mind. Jack thought of that strange cheerful and happy girl that always hung around that emotionless boy that might as well be a robot with his movements, speech, and lack of emotion. Grinning, Jack hummed again. Good thing he had her number memorized.

It had taken an hour to get a hold of a guard who would listen to an omega's request for their one phone call and had taken another hour to actually get it. The tiny beta, Gortys, had been both shocked and flattered at the same time, that Jack had called and became alarmed once she had learned where Jack was. After a promise to inform Rhys of Jack's whereabouts, Jack had been led back to his cell and now he was currently waiting on the bed, laying down with one arm behind his head and the other; tenderly stroking his stomach, feeling it starting to firm up as it grew. He sighed, waiting for the screeching he was bound to get when Rhys got there.

He didn't have to wait long.

“Really, Jack? Gortys?!” The alpha had bellowed, stepping up to Jack's cell, glaring daggers as the man in question was leaning on the bars with one hand clutching one of the bars in his hand. “It's bad enough that you were put in here for attacking somebody and sending them to the hospital, especially when it put our baby at risk, but you just HAD to go and call Gortys for help?! It'll take weeks for me and LB to calm her down! She's easy to upset!”

The guards in the room looked equally amused at the sight of the young alpha as he scolded his omega at what seems like to be the first time. They hadn't been sure whether to be proud of the young alpha or ashamed. Couldn't he control his omega? Keep him from pulling stunts like this with his betters? Apparently not? And where was the omega collar on the omega?”

Almost as if to prove them right, Jack gave an eye roll at Rhys' rant. “Cupcake, can we talk about this later? I want out of here.”

Looking as if he was about to protest, Rhys glared before giving a frustrated sigh and reached into his pants pocket to pull out a wallet. “I should leave you in there.” he threatened, coldly.

“But you won't,” Commented the omega, knowingly with a grin. “You love me too much to do that.”

As the bail was paid, Jack really didn't pay much attention to what was being said between Rhys and the police as the alpha paid his bail and signed his release forms. The only thing he caught out of the conversation between Rhys and the police was one of the guards saying: “Keep an eye on your omega. Get that spoiled omega a collar or something. Next time is solitary.”

To which Rhys replied dryly: “That seems a bit extreme for a first time offence.”

“It's simple procedure”

“For who? Everyone or only misbehaved omegas?”

Rhys never got an answer. Jack wisely kept silent while fuming mentally.

The whole walk to the car had been silent and tense. Words that needed to be said were kept tightly sealed behind stubborn lips, neither daring to say a word until they had left the station.

It wasn't until they got inside the car and buckled did Rhys finally break the silence.

“That was stupid, Jack.” Growled the alpha, face blank despite the anger laced in his voice as he gripped the steering wheel of the stalled car, tightly in his grasp. “Of all the stupid things you have done in the time that I have known you, this has got to be the most stupidest thing you have done yet.”

“Well, excuse me.” The omega bit back angrily, grossing his arms across his chest with a scowl firmly planted on his face. “Next time an alpha wants to fuck me, I'll bend over and submit myself to him, as to not embarrass my poor alpha's pride.”

“You almost ripped their throats out. Hugo had it all on camera. The guy was leaning on a wall. You attacked without cause, Jack.”

“What would you have me do?!” Jack roared, Turing his head to yell at Rhys. “Let him get by with what he said?! Do you understand what he told me he was going to do to me when I was alone?!”

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, Rhys stared ahead through the windshield glass at the parking lot before them, hands tightened on the wheel, fighting the urge to grab his omega and shake him to tell him how foolish he was being to let a few words get to him. But the alpha resisted the urge.

“So you attacked him because of some schoolyard idle threats? That's what you're supposed to go to Hugo for. That's his job, to get rid of harassment to omegas. He watches over you all.”

“Typical. Make me the bad guy, why don't you. I don't need him! I can fight my own battles without some alpha jumping in Rhys!”

Rhys felt his brow twitch annoyingly and he closed his eyes. Breathing clearly wasn't working to lesson his temper. He resorted to counting in his head.

One...

“That sounds very juvenile. You can't afford to fight anyone with how law is, especially in your condition. Do you want to hurt the baby?”

Two...

“The baby. That's all you fucking talk about these days! 'Baby this' and 'Baby that'. It's not just the baby you need to worry about, Kiddo! I'm a fucking human being too! Not an incubator! Why don't you worry about me for a change?! Damn it, I swear you can be such a fucking asshole sometimes!”

Three...

“An asshole?! Me?! Well excuse me for caring! But you're right! How silly of me! How are you my darling omega, whom I love so much?! How was jail?!”

Four...

“Don't you fucking dare play that fucking omega card, Rhys! That's a low blow, you piece of shit!”

Five...

“Well if you want to insist on playing the spoiled, whiny omega than I'm going to act the cruel and sarcastic alpha that you obviously are lacking!”

Six...

“You asshole! I'm not a spoiled and whiny omega!”

Seven...

“Yes you are! What do you think I hear when you're always upset?! It's called whining, Jack! 'Rhys, what about me?' or 'Rhys I want this! Do that!' Maybe the guards were right! I spoil you too much!”

Eight...

“Newsflash, cupcake! I'm not spoiled! You're acting like I embarrassed you by pulling your pants down or something! And for what?! Defending myself against three alphas?!”

Rhys could feel his alpha blood boiling as Jack spoke. He bit his tongue to try and keep himself quiet. As long as Jack doesn't say another word, he'd be able to hold back his anger. “Jack, Shut up...” He couldn't take this. It was too much. He was going to explode. Too back luck wasn't on either of their sides.

Nine...

“Oh, big bad alpha is afraid of his omega being strong and not taking shit like everyone wants?! What are you going to do? Collar me?!”

Ten...

“MAYBE I WILL!!!” They both went silent at Rhys' explosive roar, finally looking over to face Jack. The alpha watched as the omega's eyes widened and his jaw drop. His inner alpha purred at the reaction he had gotten. Rhys felt sick but couldn't shake his feeling.

“W-what?” Jack had stammered. He actually stammered! It surprised the alpha a little. Jack never stammered! Fear was shining in the omega's heterochromia eyes of his. Part of Rhys was horrified at what he had said and done bit he was too pumped with rage and his alpha instincts were taking pleasure over Jack's obvious fear of him, that he couldn't stop himself from continuing.

“Maybe I will collar you! At least it would keep you out of trouble! Now I can see why alphas collar their omegas! Maybe you'll actually learn to stop demanding and trying for something that you know you'll never have!”

Rhys had felt the gut wrenching guilt and repulsiveness of his words the second he had said them. He wanted to take it all back. Rhys hadn't meant them. The words had been spouted out in a moment of anger and the moment. He truly never meant it. But he could see with the hurt and broken look in Jack's eyes that the damage had been done and it was too late to fix what he had done. Hands now in his lap, Jack's face went blank and his eyes went dead as he lowered his head to stare at his lap.

“I thought you were different.” The words the omega spoke were painfully quiet and hard for Rhys to hear. Letting out a weak agonizing whine, Rhys reached over, hand hesitantly hovering over Jack's slumped form.

“Jack... Oh my god. I'm sorry... I didn't mean it.” His eyes burned as tears threatened to pour. “Oh my god. I swear. I didn't mean it. Please. I'm sorry. Jack.. Please look at me. I didn't mean it. I would never... I.... I didn't...” Lowering his hand, it had just touched the omega's shoulder when Jack batted it off him with an angry hiss.

“I hate you....” The omega sobbed, strangling a growl as he looked out the window.

Rhys felt like dying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry! Things will work out in the end! Every relationship has to have fights in them!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously not the last chapter. I decided to have multiple chapters instead of ONE HUGE CHAPTER. Because I'm unfair like that. Also, if I haven't done it already, I'm deleting the notes now so the only notes should be on the chapters. :3

Other than Jack's silent sobbing, in which the omega had tried to hide it with a great attempt only to ultimately fail, Rhys remained quiet at first, unsure how to even apologize to the omega. While, yes, he had been stressed and worried for his mate, it didn't give him the right to say what he had said; he knew this. So why DID he say that? To keep Jack in line? Was he ashamed of his mate? Was it being lectured by the police that set it off? He didn't know. Whatever the reason was, it had cost him. And now his mate was crying to himself in the passenger seat, which was a feat in itself since Jack, honestly, didn't cry. 

The omega had found crying to be a weakness and refused to do it and there was no way that this could have been blamed on his pregnancy since Jack wasn't that far along just yet. Looking over at the omega for a moment while minding the road, Rhys gave a pitiful whine and reached over to touch his mate on the shoulder, wanting to apologize. His alpha instincts were going wild; angry at the one who dared to hurt his lover. The problem was, HE was the one who hurt him. How does one fix that?

Baring his teeth, Jack smacked the metal hand away from his shoulder, choosing, instead of doing more harm to Rhys' ego, to curl in a ball, back mostly turned to the alpha in the way of shunning. And it had the desire effect it was supposed to. It stung. Rhys felt it like a bullet to his chest. But he would have to live with it. He had broken Jack's trust and he was lucky being shunned was all he was getting instead of a bullet to the head or hands around his neck. Even though Jack had claimed to have not actually killed anyone, there was no denying it. While the police never said anything, the alpha knew the truth. 

He had known for a long time that Jack had killed someone-MANY someones to be truthful. He knew this before he started to date the man. But the law was majorly lenient on him because he was Tassiters son; or rather, one of them, as well as an “unstable” omega, as society called him. Shaking his head, Rhys let out another whine but didn't reach for his mate again. He would have to make it up to Jack.... Somehow...

Any further attempts Rhys made to possibly fix things between Jack and himself were instantly shot down by a glare from the omega. By the time the alpha had driven them to the house, Jack instantly bolted inside and locked himself inside his bedroom, not saying a word. Forcing a deep breath, Rhys, after a few hours, had made an attempt to knock on the bedroom door and telling an awful pun that Jack likes. Sadly, he hadn't received a response from the other behind the door. Defeated, the alpha returned to the living room and sagged heavily on the couch, resting his head in his hands as he struggled to keep from crying. 

Rhys had pondered calling someone and explain what happened but with how late it was in the night, he really didn't want to wake anyone up and unload his problems on them. Instead, he raised his head and idly glanced around the room. Unwilling to sleep, he gave a sigh and lowered his head to rub his hair when he spotted something on the side of the couch. Jack's laptop.

Looking back to Jack's room, it appeared that the omega wasn't going to make an appearance tonight. It also looked as if he was going to keep Rhys locked out so the alpha was having a cold night on the couch. Sure, he could go to Vaughns, considering he technically was still renting an apartment with him, however he knew that he couldn't leave his mate. Especially after all the things he said and done, he still loved Jack. 

That gave him a pause. When had been the last time they had said “I love you” to each other? The random thought caught him off guard and he shook his head. Picking up the computer and lifting the lid, Rhys was blinded by the light that came from the screen as he sat there in the dark room, having been too upset and tired to turn on a light once they had gotten home.

The password protection bar was what greeted him once his eyes had finally adjusted to the light of the screen. A little slow from being in hibernation mode for so long, the computer took a little while to finish booting up before blinking and reloading the password protected screen. The alpha figured he should update Jacks computer sometime. Humming, Rhys' fingers tapped the keys, grunting at his failed attempts on guessing what the password that the laptop would have. Stopping what he was doing, index finger hovering over the first letter on the key bored, he brought his hands to his face, rubbing his cheeks in shame before shutting the laptop lid. 

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't invade Jack's privacy. He loved the man too much. Brushing the computer to the coffee table, he leaned forward, resting his face in his hands and grabbed his hair, frustration washing over him like a blanket as anxiety trickled all around him like disgusting flies.

“Why didn't you do it?” Jack's voice suddenly breaking the silence had Rhys jolting, startled and swallowing a scream. Twisting around enough to see Jack standing there, looking deadly serious arms crossed across his chest with eyes red and puffy; evidence of him crying earlier. Lowering his gaze to the computer that Rhys had abandoned as he stepped around the couch to stand beside where Rhys sat, ignoring the alphas eyes on him. 

“Why'd you just put it back like that? You could guess my password and could have looked at everything....”

Puzzled, Rhys moved to sit so he was facing the omega as the man stood there motionless and staring at the laptop. Unable to shake the feeling that Jack was trying to get somewhere with what he was saying, he remained silent, waiting with rapt attention, awaiting for what his mate would say next. Watching his mate with stunned concern at the lack of emotion Jack was exhibiting, Rhys cleared his throat, making Jack flinch a little, like he had just been snapped out of deep thought. Blinking a little, the omega quietly held himself, eyes never reaching the alphas.

"Why didn't you? You had ample opportunity to do so, but you didn't." Brows twitching, fighting against his own emotions, Jack finally had the nerve (which was unusual. Jack always had nerve) to let his gaze bore into his mates. "Why?"

Why. The simple question had all but knocked Rhys off the couch. If he hadn't have been leaning against the back, he was sure he would have fallen off. Standing, he reached out, daring to take Jack's arm, making the man flinch at his touch. At the action, Rhys slowly pulled his hand back, alarmed at the reaction. Jack had NEVER flinched at his touch. Thinking about it, his mate was doing a lot of things that he had never experienced with him before. The lack of emotion, the lack of eye contact, the timid and soft tone in his voice. It was almost as if he was acting like....

His jack clenched and hands clinched into fists at his side.

_Acting like a submissive omega..._ Rhys should have seen it. He studied omegas long enough in that horrible obedience school he was forced to attend in collage. The behavior was all the same. But Jack had never set foot in a place like that as far as he could tell. What was going on?

"Because it wasn't right," Finally able to find his voice, Rhys felt himself swallow nervously as he kept a close eye on Jack's reactions. His mate showed none. "It was your privacy and I had no right to it."

"Omegas have no rights or privacy." Jack's monotone voice droned. sounding very much like he had been trained to recite those words. Almost like a soldier of war when stating basic procedure. "All of that goes to our alpha." Then Jack once more looked away, bashfully. "You know that."

"Jack, what has gotten into you?" Unable to retain himself anymore, he grabbed his mate and turned him so they were facing, ignoring the flinch Jack made this time. "What happened? I know this couldn't have been from the fight....." Brows furrowing in worry, Rhys stood straighter. "W-was it? I swear I didn't mean anything I said. I was just so mad and you were yelling then I started yelling..."

He was yammering on, nervously talking with his hands as he avoided eye contact with the other, barely able to spot the fact that his actions were slowly snapping Jack out of what stupor he was in. As the alpha rambled on, Jack grabbed his head, shaking it like he was waking up from a dream, eyes slightly cloudy and looking exhausted before releasing a sigh; so soft that it was hard to hear.

-

"Rhys?" Jack could hardly recognize his voice as he spoke. Watching the alpha before him yammer on, it wasn't until he grabbed Rhys' metal arm did the guy finally shut up. "It wasn't the fight. It was-" Letting a frustrated growl, he ruffled his hair angrily with his fingers. Had this been a different situation, there was no way he'd allow himself or anyone else to mess up the style he worked hard to keep. But this, obviously, warranted a little bit of relief. But now he had a headache. Top it all off with his mate staring at him, looking at a loss for what to do and ready to piss his pants. It was up to Jack to continue the conversation. Giving one final sigh, Jack let the palms of his hands rub down his face before letting them fall to his sides.

"I-kind of had an attack..." blandly glaring at Rhys when the alpha gave no sign of understanding, he snorted. "A flashback, Rhys. I had a flashback. A bad one." That time, Rhys had gotten it, going pale and eyes widening as he stared at the alpha with a dumb look on his face.

-

"Your grandmother?" Rhys questioned, stepping closer to his mate, placing his hands on the omegas upper arms and placing his forehead against Jacks, relieved when he didn't earn another flinch, but instead was rewarded with a nod. Seeing Jack's eyes close, enjoying the feeling of their foreheads touching, Rhys in turn, closed his own eyes, mournfully, remembering the stories Jack had told of his grandmother over the past five months. "What had set it off?"

"The collar comment." Jack droned out, sounding relaxed and leaning his weight on Rhys, a clear sign of wanting to be held in which Rhys happily complied with. Wrapping his arms around the broad shoulders of Jack, he deeply inhaled the omega's scent. Doing the same, the omega purred in content. "I know you'd never do it. You're too much of a weenie.... But she used to collar me and chain me under the house. I barely fit under the floor boards and each time she stepped over the area I stood, nails dug into my body. It was a wonder I never got sick."

"I'm... Jack, I'm sorry.." He pulled away, trying to keep himself from holding Jack's arms in a vice-like grip. "I never should have said that-"

"You were mad," Jack interrupted, rolling his eyes, nearly shrugging the trauma he had recently experienced away. Brushing Rhys' hands off his body before bending down and grabbing the laptop under his arm. "You had as much right as everyone, cupcake. You were pissed and worried, I was pissed and-well-pissed. You can't expect us to get along all the time."

"But still," Grabbing Jack's hand and earning an amused smirk from the older man, he held the omega's knuckle to his cheek. "It was still wrong of me. And you know I'd never do anything like that." Then with a smile, he kissed the hand he was holding, gently like a butterfly, he added "I love you."

Jack appeared to pause, quickly masking his surprise that had slowly been forming on his face with a smirk. Pulling his hand away, he grabbed under Rhys' jaw, swooning the alpha instantly. "And I love you, pumpkin." then, tightening his grip and keeping the other male from pulling away, he tugged Rhys' face to his own, staring hard in his eyes and snarling. "But if you do get it in your head that you can control me, EVER, I WILL make you regret it. No amount of love that I have will save you. Understand, sweet cheeks?"

Giving an alarmed squeak, Rhys nodded, face pale and eyes wide, the alpha was instantly reminded on who was in charge in the relationship. This action pleased the omega as Jack soon was smiling cheerfully, removing any signs of what had happened that day, and released Rhys' Jaw, allowing the alpha to pull back and scuttle humorously around the couch. 

"Good boy." Jack praised. smiling cheerfully before setting the laptop down on the couch. Watching in wonder as his mate makes himself comfortable, laying on the cushions and spreading his legs, Rhys found himself gulping at the aroused scent coming from his mate.

"Now," Rhys' eyes went to Jack's mismatched ones as the omega spoke. Seeing he had the alpha's attention, Jack smirked deviously, his hands trailed over his body, allowing one to linger over his crotch. "I believe you owe me some make-up sex. Be gentle with me, kitten. I'm eating for two."

Hurrying around the couch, Rhys' hands instantly went to his tie, pulling it off to climb on his mate, pressing his body as carefully as he could without harming the pup Jack carried inside him. Nibbling and sucking the omega's neck all the while being spurned on by Jacks moans, the alpha settled between the others legs. Worries and troubles faded as he pulled off their clothes, wanting to make Jack scream.

It was Jack that made Rhys scream in the end.

**Jack**

Three times. They had fucked three times. Body sore and exhausted, the two had eventually found themselves in the bed after two rounds on the couch. Jack had to admit, he really enjoyed the make-up sex. Even if the fight had only lasted a day, it was more than enough to make the sex, earth shattering. He couldn't remember the last time he had orgasmed so much and so hard. Even during his heat did he feel as full and in control as he did then. Rhys, Jack found, was a real monster in bed after a fight. Who knew that a weenie like him to have so much energy. Either that, or Jack was just getting old.

Now while Rhys slept soundly beside him in the bed, Jack had no problem, other than walking, to grab his laptop and return with it. With nothing left to do, and too much nausea for sleep, the omega found himself with little to do without waking his mate. His fun was over and now he had work to do. Work that had cost hos father his life and had messed with his twin. Spotting the next, unopened document on his desktop, he put in the next password, he had assumed was for that particular file, and had to take pause. Checking the date of the report gave him pause. It was set seven months after Timothys' results. While he could no longer see anything related to his brother on these files, it made him worry. How much had truely been kept from him.

Grumbling, Jack reached over and pulled his reading glasses off the nightstand and placed them on his face, mouth thinning at the words he read.

–  
_Project #9050 – Beta Male [Day 700]_

_The differences between Timothy and other betas were unknown. Something about the boy was different as evidence by out newest...... "volunteer"._

_The beta male known as “Krieg” had suffered some unusual results. Choosing him to test on after starting on Tassiter's son had felt like a backward decision when we started; now I fear for the worst. I am unsure where everything had gone wrong or what the cause of it had been but the experiments on the young beta had proven disastrous. The iridium had been too much on his body-or more so his mind-than we had ever experienced before._

_It had driven him insane and frightfully violent. He attacks everything that moves, shouting about “meat bicycles” and “salting the flesh”. We have no choice but to put him down. He has proven to be too much of a danger to himself as well as well as others. There is by no clear consistence of mine, that he is able to be placed in an asylum. A beta of his height and the strength his body has gained from our experiments would be much too strong for the workers there to be able to handle._

_I had feared for this. When we had done the tests on “Clap Trap”, the boy had merely gotten ill and thrown up. The omega body was certainly something, but it is unable to hold the iridium longer than five hours. And what remained out of the entirety five hours was absolute torture. While I do not feel at all pleased by the discomfort of this obnoxiously chatty adolescent, I did not intend for him to be sick and in pain, despite all our testing. Out of all the endotypes, we had theorized that the omega body would be the ones able to withstand the material. That however, is not the case. With what we had gathered from those we have lost, Krieg was the closest we had come to even showing a sign of success._

_Now he lays in his cell, awaiting for the day we release the neurotoxins in his glass cell. It was a pity for him. We must give the unfortunate news to his wife and young child. Both mother and daughter will, no doubt, be devastated. But if she is, how Krieg had described her whilst he was still sane, Tina will do fine. She's a strong minded child. It will be hard, but it will be fine....  
… I hope._

_–  
[EMERGENCY: ACT WITH CAUTION!!]_

_Krieg had escaped this morning. We had all awoken to a crash in the middle of the night to find that Krieg, in his insanity, had smashed all the glass in his cell and escaped through a back window, killing Janice on his way out. It was a foolish thought to cage him up in a glass cell. While it was the strongest glass known to man kind, it would have taken a armored vehicle to break._

_Good God, what have created? What kind of monster have we made that he could do such a thing to that strong material? I fear for us. I fear for the people. No, he must be found. We will send out a team and find him...  
Or die trying..._

That had been the last documentary file that remained on the drive. Jack lay there, pale and sweaty in the dark, suppressing a gasp in hopes to not awaken his mate, who only turned in his sleep. There had been no doubt on what happened. Obviously, the man had died along with his team, if the pattern Jack had seen going on with these reports saw was anything to go by, Krieg was lose and he has killed.

**Rhys**

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore, Fiona." Rhys whined, giving a shaky cry as the baby in his arms wiggled and whimpered. Fiona, who stood by the changing table and getting it ready, merely smirked before going behind Rhys and pushing him to the table, waiting for him to set her son down before continuing to instruct him. 

"Just take off the diaper, Rhys. It's not hard to do. Scooter can do this and you will too." Her lips were thinned, trying not to laugh at the distressed look on his face. "Look, watch me." Pushing past Rhys, she quickly undid Scrapper's diapers straps, opening it and allowing the rancid smell flow through the room. 

"Oh sweet cheese-its!" Jumping back, Rhys fell on the floor, gagging at the smell as he curled in a ball, trying to wave the smell away with his hands. "Keep that demon away from me!!" 

"Get up here. You have to learn how to do this eventually!" 

"I'm sure Jack will do that for me." 

"Jack will not let you sit around and get out of diaper duty." Fiona stated, rolling her eyes when Rhys snickered at the unintended pun. "Get up here, Rhys! It's just a diaper." Reaching down, she grabs him by his ear and pulled him up, putting her newly acquired mothering into place, making Rhys stand there beside her and ignoring his gagging. "Now stay, and watch what I do. It's easy." 

Fiona smirked, quickly pulling out the baby wipes and grabbed Scrapper's small ankles in her fingers while Rhys watched on in horror. 

By the time the diaper changing lesson was done, Rhys ran out of the room and was quick to wash his hands. Sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, Scooter hooted loudly, laughing and holding his sides. This did nothing for Rhys' mood and the alpha grabbed his jacket and turned, prepared to leave without a word when Scooter called back with equal amused laughter. 

"See ya tam'rrow, Rhys!" 

"T-Tomorrow?!" 


	23. Chapter 23

Work was boring like always. No surprise there for Jack. But it quickly became a nuisance in his slightly advanced state of pregnancy. Seven months along and it was all too clear that he was carrying a pup. That, however, did not change how those around him acted. The other omegas still kept their distances from him, gossiping and whispering to themselves; too stupid, the lot of them, he felt. They had yet to realize that he wasn't single and wasn't about to die anytime soon.

What DID bother him was the lack of activity those involved in the research that his twin had gotten involved in. It was like they had been waiting on something. Even LILLITH, the bitch, hadn't done or gotten into anything suspicious lately. She had been giving him these calculating glances then her eyes would land on his rounded belly, causing Jack to bristle and glare in her direction until she looked away or hid in her office.

Jack gave a sigh, rubbing his aching back, grunting as a sharp pain traveled up his spine. He preferred it when the woman ignored him. It was easier for him to sneak around her and gave him ample time to snoop through her computer when she was off doing her thing. But that had oddly slowed the further along in his pregnancy he got. Was she... watching him?

Scrutinizing looks from his superior aside, the omega also had a very protective alpha at home who had been trying for days to get his mate to take maternity leave, which Jack “kindly” refused, sternly.  
“Hello, Jack. You look ravishing like always. How has your health been treating you?”

Jack sighed, bringing his arm back to press his head in his hands. _'Then there was this asshole.'_

“Go away, Nampatanala.” Jack all but growled in annoyance as he turned his attention back to his unfinished and surprisingly well balanced paperclip Eiffel tower that he had unconsciously been building while lost in thought. Apparently now that he was snapped out of his said train of thought, the tower seemed unstable and hard to keep standing now that he was actually paying attention.

The alpha beside him fixed his hold on his stack of papers he was grasping in his arms and cleared his throat before giving a shaky nervous laugh. 

“I-It's Namayaka, my dearest.” He had corrected for, what must have been the millionth time that week. “B-But I'm assuming that you're pulling my leg every time you do that so I suppose I could forgive you.” Was that grin supposed to signal that he was joking or grimacing in pain?

With the roll of his eyes, Jack continued on working on the office supply tower, willing to pretend the annoying alpha wasn't there, when Namayaka set his stack of papers hastily on his desk, making his entire creation tumble down and scatter all over his desk and some landed on the floor by the alpha's feet. Hands raised in mild surprise, Jack glared over at the alpha, who winced at realizing what he had done.

“Dude, what the hell is your problem!?” Jack exclaimed, going to bend over to pick up the clips on thew floor, one hand on his desk to pull him back up, when he found himself pushed back into an upright position by Namayaka, who urgently picked up the scattered paperclips.

“Forgive me, Jack! It had been an accident!” The alpha cried, sweating as he nervously stood back up and dropped the paperclips on the desk, cursing under his breath when a couple of them fell back on the floor.  
The sight was truly sad.

Before the alpha could attempt to pick the paperclips up, Jack firmly placed one foot on them, sneering. “Okay, enough. What do you want? I have enough annoyances to deal with besides your clumsy ass.”

“R-right.” Clearing his throat once more, Namayaka straightened up, fixing his glasses, attempting to look professional as he could. “I've been told to check you over-for your own good, th-that is.”

Eyebrows shooting up so fast that Jack could have sworn they would have met his hairline, had they not been attacthed to his face. “Excuse me?” He questioned, brining a hand up to clear his ear. “Maybe I didn't hear you right, but you were ordered to CHECK me?!”

“Y-yes....” Namayaka's eyes were anxiously shifting around, body shaking slightly as more sweat manifested on the man's skin.

“By who?” The silence in the room was practically deafening; the omegas had stopped their chatter to watch the two in fear, some holding their bellies in fear. Everyone in that room that you never pissed Jack off. It seemed to add weight to the situation Namayaka had found himself in and the alpha took in a deep breath, tugging at his medical coat collar.

“I-is it hot in here or is it ju-just you?”

“Tell me who it was that ordered this, Nama-kiss-ass!” Standing up faster than he was prepared for, Jack felt a wave of dizziness and he was forced back into his seat, holding his head until it had passed. With Namayaka kneeling in front of him, the omega could feel a cold and clammy hand on his forehead and the other on the side of his waist.

“You mustn't exert yourself, my sweet.” Said alpha chimed scolding, pulling Jacks eyelids open to peer inside his miscolored eyes. “This is why Lillith ordered me to look you over.”

“Get your grossly slimy hands off me.” Slapping both hands off his being once the dizziness had passed, Jack growled. “And there's no way I'm letting you get your perverted hands on me- Wait did you say 'Lillith'?!” Growling, Jack was prepared to stand once more but the alpha before him pressed him back in his seat.

“Yes, and you must stop doing that. It's not healthy for your pup.” Jack didn't like the look Namayaka gave as he looked Jack up and down like a man dying of thirst when he saw a cold glass of water. What made the situation even more uncomfortable was seeing the alpha lick his lips as his voice took on a slightly husky tone that confused his omega scenes. A mixture at arousal at being the object of an alpha's focus as well as disgust at being the object of this particular alpha's focus. “The company, and myself want you healthy. Especially in your fragile state.”

Snarling, Jack kicked the alpha in the midsection, making him grunt in pain as he fell over from the force of the blow as well as whine at the omega's rejection.

“Get your pleasure elsewhere, Namapaka. This omega's not interested.” Baring his teeth and squaring his shoulders, Jack took on the dominate alpha stance, intending to scare the other away. But instead of shying away from the challenge, Namayaka merely stood his ground despite his obvious desire to otherwise flee.

“I'm sorry if I had implied that. It wasn't my intention. I will be quick.” The asshole didn't look very apologetic. As he bent back down to kneel in front of the omega, he touched Jack's rounded stomach, (the omega giving into the humiliation of the public examination), making a pained face from the bruise he no doubt had. “I am not liking how tight you are. It's a sign of labor or stress.”

Meeting Jack's angry eyes, Namayaka gulped. “Have you been experiencing stress, my dear?” Baring his teeth, the alpha removed his hands from Jack's stomach, curling them into fists. “Foolish Alpha, you have. He shouldn't be allowing his mate to become stressed. If you were mine-”

“I'm going to stop you there, asshole. I'm not your “dear”. Say that again and I will rip your tongue out.” Damn, Jack was too tired for this. For some reason, he couldn't keep his eyes open; the interaction with the alpha sucked the patience and energy from his being. He wanted to badly to deck the alpha in the face and go to bed. “Plus, I have a doctor and don't need you here, Buzzkill.”

This didn't please the pharmacist as the man straightened up, stiffly fixing his glasses before pulling a paper from the pile to write on.

“Then I suggest you get ahold of them.” Namayaka replied, coyly and ripped off a piece of the paper he had been writing on to hand to Jack. “Because I have no choice but to force you to take maternity leave.”  
Gaping, the omega snatched the paper, sending a heated g;are to the offending piece before sending that same look to the alpha who was finally loosing his nerve. “You can't do that.”

-

Apparently he could. And after a stern screaming match between him and Lillith while Vasquez tried to calm the other omegas in the room while the fight went down, Jack found himself sitting outside on a bench while he waited for his mate to pick him up. Arms crossed and a look of pure rage on his face, he stewing in his own memories. He was going to get a hold of Tim and make the assholes pay! He was...

He was....

Giving a sigh, Jack let his crossed arms drop, leaning his head back while ignoring the looks he got from people passing by to go into the store.

Jack couldn't do anything. Both his father and his grandmother had drilled that in his head. As an omega, he was just below a beta. Not even Tim could do anything. Even though his Twin was the new CEO of the Hyperion corporation, Timothy was still a beta and had enough problems trying to get his own workers to listen to him.

As mad as he was at his brother, there was no way he'd bring this to his attention. Because Tim would fight it, and no doubt would lose. It was an alpha world. Unfair but it is what it is.  
Fuck, how was he supposed to keep an eye on Lillith if he was forced out of work until he gave birth? The answer, he couldn't. Not unless....

Opening his eyes, he spotted a strange black four door car drive up in front of him. That wasn't Rhys' buick. Watching with caution as the passenger window lowered, Jack gave a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar face of Rhys' packmate, Vaughn.  
The alpha did his best to give a reassuring smile as he beant to the side to unlock the passenger door for the pregnant omega, he sat upright once more as Jack stood with difficulty from the bench.

Seeing the omega's struggle, Vaughn gave a lightly toned but nervous chuckle. “Do you need help, Jack?” He questioned kindly.

“I got it muscles. Just keep the car running.” Climbing in the small car was a struggle indeed, without help. However Jack had too much pride and much of it had been damaged when he was forcefully removed from the building with hundreds of eyes on him the entire time with an over excited alpha sniffing around him the whole way. 

Once inside the car, the omega had no choice but to have the alpha help him get buckled in the seat. Not long after he was settled, Vaughn drove away from the cerve, slow at first but he picked up speed once they got out of the parking lot.  
“Where's Rhys?” Jack found himself asking, staring out the window, watching the other cars go by in the multilaned road, snorting in a mixture of disgust and amusement at the people in the other vehicles. “I called him, not you.”

Vaughn seemed to hesitate to reply. Eyes locked on the road, the short alpha struggled to keep his smile. “He-uh.... He's at work.”

“Bullshit.” Jack blurted, finally looking over at Vaughn. “Rhys lost his job, thanks to my brother. Don't try to pull that one me.”

“N-no, no! It's true!” Vaughns hands tightened on the wheel, making the leather crinkle under his grip. “He got a call this morning when he dropped you off. Apparently your brother found a position for him to take, temporarily.”

Grip lighting his grip on the wheel, Vaughn spared a reassuring grin to the omega. “It'll be fine. You'll have me to keep you company for a while.” The alpha's posture was growing more relaxed the longer Jack kept silent as surprise and suspicious disbelief took over the omega's expression. 

Looking away once more, Jack could only let out a grumble under his breath. Of course, Tim would do this. Tim was too kind hearted to just do that to his workers, no matter how suspicious the incident the worker had been in. His twin was such a bleeding heart that is made Jack wish he was more like the beta.... well, almost. Jack hated being sappy like TimTams normally was.

“Rhys tells me you play video games.” Vaughn continued, letting his fingers drum on the steering wheel as they stop at a red light, effectively snapping the omega out of his train of thought. “Says you're pretty good at them. Maybe we could play a couple games when we get to the apartment.”

That's right. Jack forgot that Vaughn lived in an apartment. He should have figured the alpha would take him there while Rhys was at his “job”.

Giving a tired grin, Jack lowered his head to tiredly run his fingers through his hair. “No offence, Shortcake. But I feel like taking a nap more than playing some game, right now. I'm exhausted.”

“O-oh... Well you can nap in the car. I can wake you when we get there.”

Jack didn't need to be told twice. Adjusting the seat so he was laying back, he found sleep easily. The movements of the car had been relaxing and soothing that it only helped. The vibrations of the ride felt good on his sore back and it wasn't long before he was out of it.

-

When Jack woke up next, he was laying on the couch of Vaughn's apartment. Pillow under his head and blanket draped over his body, he sat up, hand going to his back and groaning as it ached and popped with his movements. How did he get here? The last he remembered, he was asleep in the shorty's car.

Throwing his legs over the side of the couch, he caught a glimpse of the outside from the corner of his eye. Night. How long was he asleep? He had gotten kicked out of work at three pm and it looked to be ten at night.

“Oh...You're awake.”

Head jerking to the sound of that familiar voice, his omega side purred at seeing Rhys, dressed in pajamas and holding a pizza in his cybernetic hand, glass of soda in the other. His mate's hair looked ruffled like he had been playing with it and clothes looked slightly wrinkled. He must have been dressed like that for a couple hours.

“Hey.” Jack winced at how rough his voice sounded. Granted, he DID wake up after sleeping for a couple hours. “How long was I out?”

“Around seven hours.” Rhys responded, striding over to the couch to sit as close to his mate as he could. “Sleep well?” Kissing the omega's cheek, Rhys purred, setting his drink and food on the table nearby to engulf his mate in his arms and scenting him, brushing his nose on Jack's neck.

Relaxing against his mate, Jack leaned into the alpha's arms, kissing the younger male lightly on the lips. “As well as I can lately.” He grunted. “I feel like I've been gurgling sand.”

Raising a hand to his throat, Jack grimiced when he swallowed. That hadn't been a lie. His throat felt sore and scratchy. It could have been from the shouting match he was apart of earlier so he didn't give much thought to it.  
Rhys, on the other hand, looked concerned as he lightly kissed Jack's neck. “I'll call the doctor and get you an early appointment then. Don't want you to get sick.” Then he gave a pleased groan. “You hungry? What's the baby wanting.”

If you asked jack, whether or not he liked the touches or belly rubs that Rhys had been doing since he'd started getting big, he would deny it and threaten to rip your head off. But if he was being honest, he really enjoyed the touches. He loved the feeling of the hand massaging his stomach. They had been oddly soothing and relaxing.

“Yeah. Could go for a slice, cupcake.” He purred, leaning back so he was nearly laying on the couch once more. “Maybe I'll have the slice you have, since it's here.”

“I don't think you'd like it. It's pineapple and ham.”

“I don't give a shit what it is. It's pizza. Now gimmie!” Reaching out and grabbing the pizza from the nearby table, he ignored the amused snort Rhys gave and bit into the pizza. Quickly chewing and swallowing, Jack sent a playful glare to his mate. “You have shit taste in pizza.”

“Hey.” Rhys whined, pouting and crossing his arms in defense. “I like pineapple on pizza. It's my favorite.”

“It's a shit choice. Pepperoni all the way.”

“Well, you don't have to eat it, you know. I could just get you a piece of pepperoni then-”

“KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM THE SLICE, RHYS!! I'm eating it!”

Rhys quickly snatched his hands away to hold them up defensively. “Sorry. But seriously, if you don't like it, why eat it?”

“The baby wants it.” Jack retorted, taking another bite of pizza. “I'll admit, this isn't as bad as anchovy pizza. That kind is disgusting as fuck.”

“Don't let Vaughn hear you say that.” Rhys replied, giving an amused smile. “That's his favorite.”

The omega practically gagged, eyeing Rhys with pure disgust which was slowly fading when he spotted Rhys trying not to laugh. “Fuck you, pumpkin. I almost blew chunks, thanks to you. Don't scare me like that. I was just starting to like the guy.”

“I'm sorry.” Rhys finally broke, laughing weakly. “It's sort of an inside joke with him and I. He doesn't really like anchovies. He likes tuna-BUT NOT ON PIZZA!” Rhys quickly added the last bit at the green tone Jack's skin took.

“Rhys,” Jack warned, finishing the last bit of the slice, still looking green. “You will be the death of me one of these days.” Setting the plate down, he rubbed his stomach. “Don't talk about fish around me until the baby's out. I feel like I'm going to be sick.

“Sorry Jack.” Rhys apologized once more, smiling and standing up to kneel in front of his pregnant mate, rubbing the omega's belly, feeling the baby wiggle under his touch. “Does this help?”

“A little.” Humming, Jack sat up, placing a hand on Rhys'. “By the way, I heard Timothy gave you a new position. What is it?”

“Er...” Rhys looked hesitant, just as hesitant as Vaughn had been earlier. “W-well.... He gave me a job in the mailing room.” Then he went quiet for a moment, looking away for a short while only to turn his attention back to the older male. “I was going to tell you tonight but you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you.”

“It figures.” Closing his eyes, Jack mentally counted to keep himself focused and calm. “He had to give you one of the most useless positions out there.”

“It pays the bills.” The alpha defended shyly. “It'll be okay, Jack. I'll get my old job back eventually. We won't be broke and the baby will have what they need.”

“It's beneath you, Rhys.” Eyes boring hard into the alpha, Jack stood, pacing and snapping his fingers in his agitation. “You went to school for how long? Three years? You were a programmer for robotics and now your degree is nothing but ass paper at this point!”

Watching his mate pace, Rhys' lips tightened. “Five years....” He corrected softly, standing to stride over and lightly hold the omega. “And it's only temporary, Jack. It's a job and I can provide for you. As 'beneath' me as it seems, I can always scale the ranks again.”

Then Rhys gave a faraway look. The alpha was hiding something and Jack could see it. What was he hiding from him?

“Temporary my ass.” He bit out, feeling as bitter as his words sounded. “He knew you would never kill Tassiter, unlike me. How does he know that I didn't do it?! He blamed you for nothing.”

“But he can't legally prove that I wasn't the one. Besides, Timothy knew you were at your own job.” Knowing that Rhys was trying to calm him, the whole situation was a major annoyance to Jack. Rhys shouldn't HAVE to change jobs just because Timothy didn't have proof to protect him. Rhys shouldn't HAVE had to get fired to begin with. Everything that had happened to Rhys had been Jack's fault.

If Rhys hadn't of gotten with him then the alpha would still have his job. He'd never have gotten Tassiter's attention and the death of his father could have been blamed on some other poor saps' hands. Everything, in a way, had been Jack's fault and that stung.  
The guilt upset him. Thinking about everything that had happened upset him and it-

“AH!” Grabbing at his stomach as a sharp pain went through it had Jack nearly doubling over. “Fucking damn it! That hurt!”

Alarmed, Rhys was instantly touching him all over, looking him over for any injuries or further signs of pain. “What happened, jack?! What hurts?! Oh god, do I need to take you to the hospital?!”

“Shut up Rhys!” Hissing through his teeth and hand grabbing his stomach, Jack breathed through the pain. Collecting his thoughts, he kept his mind on breathing, counting to see if the pain would return. But it never did. Instead of pain, he felt something inside his stomach pushing against the hand that clutched his stomach.

Pulling his hand away, he saw a little mound no bigger than a small bump appear on his stomach before it vanished, leaving a small footprint on the side of his belly.

The baby had kicked....

...For the first time....

“Oh my god....Was that?...... Oh my god...” Hearing Rhys breathe out that comment then smile stupidly, Jack found a genuine smile form on his mouth.

“That was beautiful....” Rhys continued, placing a hand on Jack's stomach. Earlier conversation forgotten, the alpha bent down and pressed the side of his head against Jack's stomach, laughing when the baby pushed against his ear, leaving another mark.  
Why was it leaving marks?

-

“It's nothing to worry about.” The doctor they had gone to the next morning spun to face them with a smile. “It just means that you don't have as much amniotic fluid in there and it leaves marks. We just need to keep an eye on it.”  
Then she frowns before continuing. “But it could also mean that you might have some health or nutition problems so I want to check you over for that. We'll schedule an appointment and check we'll also keep an eye on that.”

Jack could only groan as she continued on.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on making these longer but please, enjoy this. I am VERY happy with it.

“It's **NOT** funny, Rhys!”

Indeed, it shouldn't have been funny. Humorous maybe. Mildly amusing, defiantly. But as he leans against the open doorway of the bathroom as Jack stood before him, shirt raised to show a little butt print on Jack's belly from where the baby decided to grace them with their presence sometime during the night; it was clearly a sight that Rhys hadn't been expecting when he woke up that morning, ready to place a kiss on the mound of flesh on his mate that held their child. Sure the mark would fade in an hour or two but the surprise image itself had Rhys howling like a hyena as he rolled right off the bed and waking his very grumpy partner. At realizing that the alpha was laughing at something that effected him, Jack set out to figure it out and was not pleased with what he had found.

“Serously, shut up- RHYS!”

However, although Rhys thought it was hilarious-

“Fuck off!”

-Jack had not. 

Pushing past the alpha to escape the confines of the bathroom, Jack stormed back into the bedroom he shared with his mate, pulling clothes out of the dresser to change, tugging off his shirt with difficulty and glaring at his rounded stomach with disgust.

“I can't believe I'm stuck with the likes of you!” He complained, getting fed up enough of the sight to tug on the maternity shirt he held, growling when it got stuck on his head for a moment before pulling it down; the shirt smoothing quite nicely over his pregnant belly. Placing his hands over the smooth fabric, Jack gave a sigh, anger slowly drifting from him and weariness taking its place. “So much time exercising and building body mass, gone to waste.” Placing his face in one hand, he rubbed his tired eyes. With the child now moving, it kicked non-stop, keeping him awake a lot of the time and wasn't until Rhys woke up to rub his belly did both the baby AND Jack to finally get some sleep.

Finally able to end his laughter, Rhys seemed to sober up after noticing his mate's exhaustion. Pushing off the doorway in favor of jogging to the omega's side, kissing his cheek.

“Don't be upset, Jack.” He cooed softly, one hand wrapping around his broader mate, the other hand resting on the omega's pregnant belly, feeling a kick. “You're eight months along now. Not much farther to go. And when the baby's here, you can build up those muscles again. It's not forever.” Smiling, Rhys stood behind Jack, wrapping his other hand to meet the one on Jack's stomach, resting his head on his mates shoulder. “Besides, you look even more handsome, full of pup.”

That comment earned him a sharp elbow in the side as Jack broke free of the light hold, brushing off the alpha's words with a scowl.

“Oh sure, I have all the time in the world after the baby's born. EVERYONE tells me that.” Jack bit out, dropping his pants before sitting on the bed, struggling to put on the marernity sweat pants he had been given, pitifully groaning as he allowed Rhys to help him once the alpha was finished rubbing his sore side. 

“I hate being pregnant...” He groaned, shooting the other male a hateful glare. “This is your fault, you know.”

“M-Me?!” Rhys cried, blinking in surprise, holding his hand to his chest while his cybernetic hand gripped Jack's pajama pants, limply. “How is it my fault?!”

“You never told me the condom broke. Remember, dipshit?” Rhys had the decency to blush, remembering clearly. “I could have taken something to prevent this. There's something called a “Plan B”.”  
Lips tightly pursed, Rhys folded the pants unconsciously before softly taking a deep breath and setting the article of clothing on the bed without facing the omega?

“Would you change a thing?” He questioned, noticing Jack go silent. Turning, he tensed his shoulders, mentally praying that he hadn't set off an episode with his lover when he posed his question. Sitting before him on the bed, legs spread to accommodate the weight on his front, Jack eyes Rhys expectantly, awaiting for him to finish. “Could you honestly say that you would have changed a thing?......”

“I.... Kiddo, I......” Jack sighed, mouth open in contemplation. He didn't know what he would say. Truth be told, pregnancy felt wonderful in the beginning besides the morning sickness. He had, at the time, been able to pretend it was nothing but the flu, but all that time, he had gotten bigger and that illusion had shattered. It had been easy to pretend that he was just sick and not carrying a baby. Even with his midsection getting better and all of Rhys' friends cooing and going on about how proud they were of Rhys going to be a father, Jack had been able to avoid thinking about it too much. That had been easier than excepting it. Back when he lived with his grandmother, she had done her best to ensure that he was sterile. 

Sometimes Jack had wished that she had. Having a baby was terrifying. It was another life to look after and the process of making one left him vulnerable. If something actually went wrong in any kind of situation, there would be no way for Rhys to protect him. Heck, the alpha couldn't protect himself half the time, let alone a family. 

Rhys was a noodle. A clumsy, long legged noodle with a prosthetic arm and eye. Nothing to really be impressed about. How he had gained Jack's eye after he had used the alpha to escape Namapaka (NAMAYAKA!!! was screamed at him from the back of his mind) was beyond him.

And with the situation that they both found out, which apparently, those active in it were keeping it on hold for whatever reason... He was scared. Looking up at his mate, the absolute fear and adoration in the alpha's eyes were smothering. It made him sick. It unnerved him. But he loved it all the same. But as much as he loved the man he bonded with, Jack wasn't sure he'd love the baby.

“I.... I don't know..” Maybe it was the beaten look on his face or the sad terror in his voice, but he was enveloped in Rhys' arms and he wasted no time in clinging to his noodly mate. Trying to find comfort in someone who had very little mass to his body.

To Jack, Rhys was everything, and the baby he carried was nothing but a mistake.

-

“I don't want to be here.” Jack grumbled, hours later. Arms crossed and slumped in the scratch, cushioned chair he took residence in the waiting room of the building he was currently residing in. Attitude-wise, the omega resembled a grumpy child who was denied candy.

“And I didn't want to have to bring you here.” Yvette snipped, sitting beside the omega, magazine in her lap as she flipped the page, not bothering to spare him a glance. Shortly after their hug, Rhys had to go to his-UGH- job and Yvette was the only one the alpha could call to drag Jack to his appointment, much to both Yvette and Jack's protests. But after the promise of many belly rubs for Jack and a months worth of paying for her lunch, Yvette reluctantly agreed. “Looks like we're both being punished.”

Huffing, the pregnant omega rolled his head stubbornly to look away, only to spot a mother with a toddler in her lap. Said toddler was staring at Jack and pointing at his stomach.

“Mommy, that man's fat!” Shouted the child gleefully, catching the mother's attention and pulling her away from the conversation she was having with another woman. Upon spotting Jack, her expression turned horrified at realizing what her child had shouted and quickly apologized to Jack before turning her daughter, scolding the child for her bad behavior.

Sneering, Jack pulled himself further up in his seat, trying to get comfortable as best as he could with a sore back, glaring at the woman beside him that he had been forced to ride with. “But a midwife, seriously? I'm not due for another couple months. I swear Rhys has gone insane.”

Snapping the magazine closed, brow twitching in obvious annoyance at her best friend being insulted, Yvette took a deep breath and reminded herself that Rhys would never forgive her if she murdered his mate over a few words. 

“Would you rather have the baby alone at home or in an expensive hospital?” She didn't give Jack any time to respond. “Because that's what would have happened if we didn't make this appointment when we could. She's cheap but very good at what she does.” Then Yvette smirked, knowingly before opening the magazine she had been reading.

“Besides, Nurse Nina is the BEST. Only the best for you and Rhys. Just don't let her get too attached to you.”

“W-wai-wait. What?” Jack, for his part, looked absolutely puzzled and alarmed all in one. Fortunately for Yvette, she didn't have to respond when the door opened to reveal a beautiful but bulky, muscled Russian woman with brown hair tied to each side of her head. Nurse outfit to show her profession and a clip board in hand, the woman scanned over the names, eyes landing on the only pregnant male omega in the room.

“Jack? Is turn, myshka!”

Said omega gulped, sinking in his seat seat, he gave a weak whine in fear while the alpha beside him looked highly amused, pleased at his fear. Unfortunately, while Yvette didn't have to go in, Jack had no choice. With the appointment with the midwife was for him, the omega had no choice but to stand, eyes on him, gazes bored and curious as he waddled; yes, waddled, to the large Russian woman who was just a little taller than himself. As he drew closer, he could see a smile appear on her strong yet stern pasty face. There were few things that scared Jack; but this woman and her disturbing smile had been absolutely terrifying. Finally in front of her, he nearly yelped and would have jumped back if she hadn't grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the closest examination room.

Closing the door behind her, she stepped beside a counter, waving Jack over to the examining bed that sat in the middle of the room.

“Come, come.” She urged, lining the bed with the paper that had been attached. “We get you on bed. Come!” Then she patted the bed, still giving her scary smile, turning only to toss her clip bored carelessly on the counter behind her.

Hands clenched into fists by his sides, Jack took a deep breath, forcing his fingers to relax despite the nervousness he was currently feeling. Looking to the sky, he let out the breath of air he held.

“I hate you Rhys.” He found himself whispering out loud at the ceiling before staring ahead, stepping up to the bed, allowing the nurse to (surprisingly) LIFT him onto the bed with ease with both arms, taking care of his stomach. Once he was settled, the nurse sat down on a nearby rolling stool, picking up the abused clip bored and flipping a page, pulling a pen from her apron, clicking its end, ready to write; her complete attention on the omega at all times.

“Am, Nurse Nina. Is your first time seeing me?” She asked. However, just when he opened his mouth, she laughed humorously before looking down to her lap to write something on the documents on her clip bored. “Is joke. Nina know that myshka is knew.”  
Clearly not amused as Nurse Nina had been about the “joke”, crossed his arms with a grumble, glaring at the woman. Taking a deep sniff, he was surprised when he didn't get a smell, face matching his surprise at the lack of endotype the woman had, he bit back the rude question he had wanted to ask, instead, he settled for:

“That's the second time you called me that. What does it mean?”

Hos only answer was a casual wave off of the hand before she turned her attention back to him. “Has myshka felt pain any time during pregnancy?”

“You said that pretty well for someone with a thick accent.” Nina ignored the rude comment and angry sneer, writing down “No” for the question.

“Has myshka suffered illness during pregnancy?”

“My name's not blegablah. It's Jack, sweetcheeks. Thanks.”

Nina wrote down “No” for that question too.

“Has myshka suffered injury during pregnancy?”

Throwing his hands in the air at the lack of reaction he was getting, he bared his teeth in agitation.

“Seriously?! Are you deaf or just ignoring me, because I feel like you're ignoring me!”

Her answer was writing “Possible head injury” for her question.

Time dragged on longer than it should have with the omega's biting comments and Nina's lack of temper either. The woman had the patients of a saint, taking all his insults and rude jabs and turning them back at him in kind, simply by writing on the documents she held. So far she was down to keeping an eye on his “head injury” and possible case of “crankiness” and “Diet changing”. All of those, Jack was sure that she would take full advantage of if he kept his act up. After the mention of “diet” was brought up, he happily silenced, giving the win to Nina, who happily moved on from asking important questions to standing, hands on his bare stomach as she examined it, marveling it in wonder.

“Myshka is very big! Nurse Nina is excited! Can not wait for the malysh!” Then she laughed joyfully, turning around, letting Jack push his shirt back over his belly. “Nina love babies!” Reaching down, she removed something powder blue from the drawr at her waist. Whatever it was, Jack couldn't tell but he could hear the suspicious sound of pulled rubber. This caused him to nervously start to sweat.

“So, are we done, yet? I can leave right?” He asked, ready to slide off the table. “You saw me and everything. I can go now?”

“Not yet.” Nurse Nina happily interrupted with a light chuckle. “Nina need to check special passage.” Then she raised her hands, snapping on a glove in the omega's view before turning around. While there was no sadistic pleasure in what was going to happen and genuinely looking happy, Jack couldn't help but allow his eyes to widen as realization clicked into place. “Pants off.”

“F-fuck....”

-

Waddling out of the examination room, legs pressed as closed as he could and looking abnormally horrified and uncomfortable, Jack wasted no time to hurry away, barely giving a smug Yvette time to stand and follow him.

“So, how'd it go? Find out anything good?” She asked, looking very pleased with herself, knowing the answer.

“First off, fuck you.” Jack growled out, grabbing the door handle to his freedom of the nurses office. “And second, Never speak to me about this ever again.”

Behind him, Nina waved joyfully to Jack.

“Dasvidaniya, Nina's little mouse! Hope to see soon!” She called out before turning to call another patient in.

Whirling around, face red, Jack spat out with both shock and disbelief: “YOU'VE BEEN CALLING ME A LITTLE MOUSE?!”

With nothing but a chuckle from the nurse to confirm his horror, Yvette pulled him out before he could throw another comment her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER FOR A FUTURE CHAPTER!!! (It could be edited later down the road)
> 
> _"Nina?" Jack asked, looking up at the nurse beside him. "I really hate to ask-and believe me, I really do but this has been bothering me nonstop." Taking a deep breath, he frowned, staring her down. "What.... are you?.... I want to say alpha."_
> 
> _Nina only smiled, not a happy one, but a sad one. That specific sad smile told Jack so much and he found his jaw dropping._
> 
> _"No way..." He breathed, flabbergasted. "B-But how did you-"_
> 
> _"Nina was in trouble. Was offered protection. Nina took it. Now Nina a midwife instead of Nurse." Then she laughed, patting his head. "Not so bad. Nina get to see many cute babies! This one especially cute!"_


End file.
